Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: 12HC
Program Code: 12HC000006
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00:48 Well, we're here in Thompsonville, Illinois,
00:52 and having... or West Frankfort. 00:53 I guess the Worship Center is in Thompsonville, right? 00:57 3ABN just a little bit down the road is in West Frankfort. 01:01 But we are so glad that you are joining us 01:03 no matter where you're tuning in from around the world 01:06 because we're having a good time at Camp Meeting. Amen? 01:10 Amen! 01:12 Well we have... This afternoon is going to be 01:16 an interesting afternoon. 01:19 And I'm going to tell you the reason is that 01:22 God has really been doing something in my heart 01:25 and I'm going to share with you a new teaching. 01:30 It's a brand new teaching. 01:32 But it's something that God has been working in my heart 01:35 and I'm anxious to share it with you. 01:38 And it's I think going to be something that will bless you. 01:42 But before we do that we have with us today 01:46 Celestine Berry. And Celestine is a member of our local church. 01:51 She and her husband Michael attend church here. 01:53 And I'll tell you something: she has such a precious heart 01:56 and such a precious voice. 01:59 And she's going to sing for us 02:01 Make My Life A Prayer To You. 02:24 Make my life a prayer to You 02:27 I wanna do what You want me to 02:32 No empty words and no white lies 02:36 No token prayers no compromise 02:41 I wanna shine the light You gave 02:45 Thru your Son You sent to save us 02:50 From ourselves and our despair 02:54 It comforts me to know 02:57 You're really there. 03:02 Well I wanna thank You now 03:06 for being patient with me 03:10 Oh it's so hard to see 03:15 When my eyes are on me 03:20 I guess I'll have to trust 03:23 And just believe what You say 03:28 Oh You're coming again 03:32 Coming to take me away 03:42 I wanna die and let You give 03:46 Your life to me so I might live 03:50 And share the hope You gave to me 03:55 The love that set me free 03:58 I wanna tell the world out there 04:03 You're not some fable or fairy tale 04:08 That I've made up inside my head 04:12 You're God the Son 04:14 You've risen from the dead 04:20 Oh I wanna thank You now 04:25 for being patient with me 04:29 Oh it's so hard to see 04:33 When my eyes are on me 04:38 I guess I'll have to trust 04:42 and just believe what You say 04:46 Oh You're coming again 04:50 Coming to take me away 05:15 I wanna die and let You give 05:19 Your life to me so I might live 05:24 And share the hope You gave to me 05:29 A love... yes, the love 05:32 that set me free. 05:45 Amen. 05:48 Thank you, Celestine! 05:50 That was beautiful and it was so appropriate. 05:53 Well, there's something that I have to explain to you 05:55 just right off the bat 05:57 why I'm not going to be holding my Bible. 05:59 It's right here. But you see this little wrist bandage 06:04 of mine or this bracelet? It's a bandage. 06:07 And here's what happened. 06:09 Three months ago I went to visit my sister. 06:12 She had just gotten out of the hospital 06:13 and so I was - you know - the cavalry coming to the rescue 06:18 to help her. And when I arrived 06:21 the very first day that I was there I was in a hotel room 06:25 that had a bathtub that was slick as ice. 06:29 I was washing my hair when my feet went completely 06:33 out from underneath me and I landed on my wrist. 06:37 Now, I went to the emergency room. 06:40 They x-rayed it. 06:42 They said: "You've got a nasty sprain. " 06:44 They put me in a brace. 06:45 And two weeks later I came back 06:48 and I was working and I couldn't use this hand at all. 06:52 So I went and I had it re-x-rayed. 06:56 No break; stay in the brace. 06:59 But they also prescribed 5 weeks of physical therapy. 07:03 So I went through 5 weeks of physical therapy 07:06 with this just killing me and them saying: 07:08 "OK, lift these weights. " 07:10 "Lift them here... lift them there. " 07:12 And after 5 weeks and I'm not getting a whole lot better 07:17 the doctor said: "Well maybe we'd better do an MRI. " 07:21 And when they did the MRI they found out it was fractured 07:24 in two places and I have a torn ligament. 07:27 Now that is 5... 7... almost 8 weeks into it. 07:32 But I'm not telling you this for your pity. 07:36 But don't you feel sorry for me? Poor baby. 07:40 But the reason I wanted to share this is 'cause I thought 07:43 "What a perfect illustration of a spiritual principle. " 07:49 If you think of the x-rays, 07:52 that's kind of like our conscience. 07:54 You know we kind of see a little bit into our own heart, 07:58 don't we? But we don't always see the root of the problem. 08:01 And the physical therapy is everything that we do 08:05 to try to make ourself better. 08:07 We say: "Oh, if only I prayed more. " 08:10 "If only I read my Bible more. " "If only 08:13 I would do this more. " 08:16 We get a case of the "do mores" and that's our physical therapy 08:19 to try to heal us spiritually. 08:22 But that MRI in the spiritual realm 08:27 think of it as God's 08:29 "majestic redeeming investigation. " 08:34 When He looks into our hearts - and only God knows our hearts - 08:38 we don't know our hearts. 08:40 But He looks into our hearts and He sees 08:45 the root of the problem. 08:48 And I have to tell you I won't be carrying this. 08:50 Normally I carry my Bible in my left hand. 08:53 I don't know why I can't turn pages right-handed. 08:56 It just messes me up. 08:57 But as I... The last couple of months 09:02 I read through the Old Testament. 09:05 And this wasn't a study. You can't go through the 09:07 Old Testament in just two months and call it a study. 09:10 This was a read. 09:12 You know, sometimes it's good to just sit down and read 09:14 the Bible because when you go through it rapidly 09:18 like a story you really kind of get 09:21 the overall picture in your mind a little bit better. 09:26 And as I was reading through the Old Testament 09:31 something just kept coming to the surface over and over again. 09:37 And that is this: that man's greatest problem 09:43 is we have been infected with pride. 09:48 And our greatest need 09:51 is the grace of humility. 09:54 And so today we are going to be talking 09:58 about God's humble heart. His humble heart... 10:02 and the need in our own hearts to have that restored. 10:08 Now I want to tell you right now 10:09 I am not an expert on this topic. 10:12 Anybody that thinks they're an expert on humility 10:15 stand up and we'll tell you... We'll all point our fingers 10:19 and say: "Sit down. " 10:21 If you are proud of being humble, you're not! 10:25 That's it. 10:27 So let's invite the Lord to be with us today. 10:30 Heavenly Father, once again we come before You. 10:33 Lord, sincerely I ask in the name of Jesus 10:36 please let me be surrendered to You. 10:38 And I ask, Father, that You would send Your Holy Spirit 10:43 to speak through me to be our teacher. 10:46 Give us ears to hear 10:48 what Your Holy Spirit has to say. 10:51 I ask in the name of Jesus, Father, that You will also 10:55 empower us to put this into practice. 10:58 And Lord, we want it to be done all for the glory of Your name. 11:02 In Jesus' name, Amen. 11:04 Something that amazes me 11:07 is the humility of heaven. 11:11 It's truly an incredible thing. 11:14 When you think of Jesus Christ 11:17 and the Father and the Son 11:20 who cooperate in perfect harmony 11:23 who never compete with one another 11:26 who are always looking 11:30 to reflect love and to reveal their humble heart 11:37 it is amazing to me 11:39 when we think that the essence of the character of the Trinity 11:44 is humility. 11:46 Jesus did absolutely nothing 11:49 contrary to His Father's will. 11:51 In fact He said: "I have come not to do my own will 11:56 but to do the will of the Father. " 11:58 He was always bringing glory to the Lord... 12:02 to the Father. He said that "This teaching 12:06 that I have is not Mine. 12:08 It's My Father's. I can do nothing of Myself... 12:12 only what I see the Father do. " 12:15 Turn to Philippians chapter 2 if you will. 12:18 That's where we're going to spend our time today 12:21 is in Philippians chapter 2. 12:24 But when we think and really look at how 12:30 Christ had such reverence for the Father 12:33 that He never competed with Him 12:36 and we'll look at how the Holy Spirit never competes 12:39 with Christ. It is amazing to consider 12:43 the humility of heaven. 12:45 Philippians 2 is... let's look at verse 5. 12:49 This... the life of Christ showed the perfect reflection 12:55 of His humble heart. 12:57 So let's look at verse 5. We'll begin... 13:00 Philippians 2 verse 5: "Let this mind be in you 13:04 which was also in Christ Jesus. " 13:07 Oh, how many of you want the mind of Christ? 13:10 Oh we need the mind of Christ. 13:14 He says: "Who, being in the form of God, 13:18 did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. " 13:22 Jesus knew who He was. 13:25 He knew His authority. 13:27 He knew His power. 13:29 He did not think to say these things was setting Himself up 13:34 to be in competition with the Father. 13:37 "But yet He made Himself of no reputation. " 13:44 No reputation. "Taking the form of a bondservant 13:49 and coming in the likeness of men. " 13:53 Now keep your finger there. We're not through with 13:55 Philippians 2 but let's unpack this for just a moment. 13:58 Kenneth Cox has an illustration 14:00 that I remember. I've only heard him say it once. 14:03 But when he said it, it absolutely grabbed my attention. 14:08 He said that if you consider the created... 14:12 the order of created things 14:14 there is angels, then man, 14:18 then animals, then insects. 14:22 Now, when we think of the incarnation 14:26 of our Creator - Christ, 14:29 He didn't come as an angel. 14:32 No, He skipped that level. He came as a man. 14:36 And what Kenneth Cox said 14:39 was that would be like you or me as a man 14:44 skipping the level of an animal 14:46 and being incarnated as an insect. 14:50 Can you imagine coming as a cockroach 14:53 to save a bunch of cockroaches? 14:56 Think about it. 14:58 Think about the humility of Jesus Christ. 15:03 He didn't arrive as a powerful man... 15:06 He arrived as a baby. 15:09 A baby... where there was no place for Him to lay His head. 15:15 He was not born in the palace. 15:17 He was born in a feed trough. 15:19 He wasn't a noble. He appeared as a carpenter's son. 15:24 And Isaiah 53 said that there was nothing... 15:28 nothing about Him to attract man to Him. 15:35 His physical appearance was very average. 15:39 You know, think about this. 15:43 He could have chosen to be born handsome. 15:48 Rich. Showing up as a powerful person. 15:55 But He didn't. 15:57 Instead, the self-sacrificing love of humility 16:03 chose the path of humility. 16:08 Now He worked for 3-1/2 years 16:12 with 12 men very closely, didn't He? 16:15 Let me ask you: in those 3-1/2 years 16:18 did the disciples develop the same humble heart 16:24 of Jesus Christ? 16:26 Oh no! At the Last Supper what are they arguing about? 16:31 Who is going to be the greatest? 16:34 Here they've walked with Jesus for 3-1/2 years 16:39 and they're arguing among themselves: 16:42 "Who's going to be the greatest? " 16:44 And how did Jesus respond to them? 16:47 He simply said: "I am in the midst of you 16:52 as one who serves. " 16:55 Then He got up, He took off His outer robe, 16:58 tied a towel around Himself, 17:00 and He modeled humility in the unselfish service 17:06 of washing their feet. 17:09 My, my, my. 17:11 Washing the feet. 17:13 You know, in that day they walked around in sandals. 17:18 There weren't many paved roads. 17:20 Their feet were dusty. 17:22 They could have had cow dung 17:26 or other animal dung on their feet. 17:30 To wash someone's feet was such a menial task 17:34 that only a non-Jewish slave 17:38 was assigned to that task. 17:41 But the Creator of the universe - 17:43 their Creator - got down and washed their feet. 17:47 And you know what amazes me? 17:51 He washed the feet of Judas. 17:54 Oh that is so amazing. 17:56 Then He said to them: "If your Lord and teacher 17:59 has done this, you ought also to do it for one another. " 18:04 Because we are not... no student is better than their master, 18:09 are we? 18:11 Now, His life of perfect humility 18:15 was lived not only before God His Father 18:18 but before mankind. 18:20 And let's continue in Philippians 2. 18:22 Let's look at verse 8. 18:24 He says... "and... " here He talked about Him being humbled, 18:31 coming in the form of a man: 18:33 "being found in appearance as a man 18:37 He humbled Himself and became obedient 18:42 to the point of death... even the death of the cross. " 18:45 His humble heart, His life of perfect obedience 18:49 and self-denial is what led to our salvation. 18:53 The ultimate expression of Christ's humility 18:57 was His death on the cross... 19:00 this sacrificial death to ransom us. 19:03 And when you think about this: He was beaten 19:07 with a flagellum. 19:10 He was flogged by the Romans. 19:13 Did you know the Romans? 19:14 The Jewish people had a law that you couldn't 19:19 strike somebody in flogging more than 40 blows. 19:23 So they always stopped at 39 just in case they miscounted. 19:27 The Romans did not have any such law. 19:30 This was an instrument of torture 19:32 made of leather with multiple tongs, and it had 19:36 bits of iron, bits of broken glass 19:40 and things in it. And ancient writers said that 19:43 as people were flogged often they were disemboweled. 19:48 Their bones were laid bare. 19:50 The Creator of the universe 19:52 took these stripes upon Himself 19:55 that we might be healed. 19:57 Then He was crucified naked. 20:00 Naked. 20:02 What a shame to think 20:04 I mean that just... for some reason that just hit me 20:07 that our Lord, our Savior, 20:12 was put in such a humiliating position 20:16 before all of His enemies 20:20 who were spitting at Him. 20:22 He was crucified naked. 20:23 How humble could He be? 20:27 What a hideous death crucifixion was in the first place. 20:31 But the point is that because of Christ's reverent submission, 20:36 because of His humble heart, 20:38 God exalted Him. 20:41 Look at verse 9... Philippians 2 and verse 9. 20:44 It says: "Therefore also God has highly exalted Him 20:50 and given Him the name which is above every name. 20:55 That at the name of Jesus 20:57 every knee should bow - of those in heaven, 21:01 of those on earth, 21:02 and of those under the earth - 21:04 and that every tongue should confess 21:08 that Jesus Christ is Lord 21:11 to the glory of God the Father. " 21:15 Hallelujah! 21:18 Hallelujah! 21:19 Now I want you to keep your finger there in your Bible 21:21 or put a marker. We're going to come back 21:23 to Philippians 2 in just a moment. 21:25 But how wonderful. 21:28 Jesus did everything to glorify the Father 21:31 and the Father glorified Jesus. Amen? 21:36 Does the Holy Spirit share in His humble heart? 21:41 Absolutely! There's indivisible unity 21:45 in the Godhead. 21:48 The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one in essence, 21:52 one in purpose, one in thought, and one in action. 21:56 And the Holy Spirit does not compete with Jesus. 22:01 He does everything for the glory of Christ. 22:05 Listen to Jesus' words. 22:07 He says: "When He, the Spirit of Truth has come, 22:10 He will guide you into all truth 22:13 for He will not speak on His own authority 22:16 but whatever He hears He will speak. " 22:19 That's what Jesus said about Himself: 22:21 "I only speak what I hear from the Father. " 22:23 Now the Holy Spirit only speaks what He hears 22:27 "and He will tell you things to come. " 22:30 Jesus said: "He will glorify Me 22:33 for He will take of what is mine and declare it to you. " 22:38 So the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ 22:42 who glorifies the Father. And the Father 22:44 in turn glorifies Jesus Christ. 22:47 What humility! 22:49 What absolute humility. 22:52 Now in sharp contrast we have to... 22:55 To talk about humility we have to talk about pride. 22:58 So where did the root of pride begin? 23:02 You know, when you consider what Ezekiel chapter 28 says 23:06 it's talking about Lucifer who was the anointed cherub. 23:10 Who was created in perfect beauty. 23:13 Perfect wisdom. Walking in the very presence of God. 23:20 He was perfect until iniquity was found in his heart. 23:25 And what was that iniquity? 23:28 Pride. Isaiah says in... 23:31 Just listen to this. We don't have time to turn to every 23:33 passage, but Isaiah 14:12-14. 23:37 This is very familiar to you. 23:39 These are the words. It says: 23:43 "How you are fallen from heaven O Lucifer, 23:46 Son of the Morning. 23:47 How you are cut down to the ground 23:50 you who weakened the nations. 23:52 For you have said in your heart 23:55 'I... I will ascend into heaven. 23:59 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. 24:04 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 24:07 on the farthest sides of the north. 24:09 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. 24:14 I will be like the Most High. ' " 24:17 Satan's heart - because of his perfection and his beauty 24:21 and his wisdom - became haughty 24:25 and he reached the pinnacle of pride 24:28 when he desired to be like God. 24:32 The self-exaltation resulted in rebellion against God's 24:37 will and the great controversy between good and evil, 24:41 between pride and humility, began. 24:45 The hellish power of pride 24:50 has a Satanic origin. 24:53 And if you don't hear anything else, listen to this: 24:56 that hellish power is rooted in self love. 25:03 It is the sinfulness of pride and selfishness 25:07 that is also infecting the human heart. 25:11 Now you know, it's pretty easy for us sometimes 25:14 we think to identify those who share Satan's haughty heart. 25:20 When a life is infected with the poison of pride 25:23 there is a lot of evidence. 25:25 And as we consider briefly some of this evidence 25:28 I want to warn you about something. 25:31 The root of all sin, I believe, is pride. 25:34 But it blinds us... pride blinds us 25:39 to our most offensive sins. 25:42 When we're proud, we don't even recognize our sin. 25:45 We can see everybody else's problem 25:48 but we don't see ours. 25:49 So as we go through speaking of some of these 25:53 I want you to promise me one thing. 25:56 I don't want to make you stumble. 25:58 I don't want to make you judgmental. 26:00 So don't sit here and start thing: "Oh, yeah, I know someone 26:04 who's just like that, you know. " 26:07 No! Look and let's examine our own hearts. 26:12 Because one of the trail of evidence of the prideful 26:17 is that when they are weighed in the balance of divine 26:22 love they are found sadly wanting. 26:27 If... it's basically this: 26:32 humility is self-sacrificing love. 26:35 Pride is self love, 26:39 self confidence, self seeking, 26:42 self exaltation, self centeredness. 26:45 Notice the pattern? 26:47 Self, self, self. 26:51 Oh how we all need to get our eyes off self. 26:55 Celestine prayed about... she was singing about that 26:58 in her song. 27:01 We've got to get our eyes off self and onto the Lord. 27:06 Inflated egos. How many of...? 27:10 We know somebody with inflated egos. 27:12 We all probably have an inflated ego in somewhere. 27:15 We want to be first in line. 27:17 I remember... I remember when we were going to... 27:20 were going out to California and I was getting ready to speak 27:24 at a very large meeting. And there was a Friday night 27:27 and several presentations on Sabbath. 27:30 And so we got... I don't remember... 27:33 somewhere in northern California. 27:35 And when we got there, guess what? 27:38 Our flight had been cancelled. 27:41 And I was like: "Wait! I'm speaking 27:45 Friday night! I mean, this is the night. 27:47 I'm speaking tonight! " 27:48 And I can remember when we went to get in line 27:52 with other people to see how can we... 27:55 I mean, first of all, how can they just cancel the flight? 27:58 And so we're trying to get other arrangements 28:00 so I can get there to speak. 28:02 This is a big complication! 28:05 And J.D. is just as calm as he can be. 28:07 And he says: "Honey, the Lord knows all about this. " 28:10 And all I'm thinking is "let me get to the front 28:12 of the line because I'm important! " 28:16 You know, sometimes we think our business is so much more 28:20 important than everybody else's. 28:22 We didn't make it that night, by the way. 28:23 They got somebody... they got somebody to fill in for me. 28:27 I can be replaced. 28:29 All right. 28:31 You know, the interesting thing about our world: 28:35 prideful people are often power hungry 28:38 and, you know, they wear their pride like a status symbol. 28:44 And the world bows down to it. 28:47 Our world sets people up for the sin of pride. 28:50 They recognize it as an attribute 28:54 rather than as the root of sin. 28:57 If you ever get in a conversation 28:59 with a prideful person, this will sound familiar. 29:02 And ask yourself if you do this 'cause I've been asking myself 29:06 "How often do I do this? " 29:08 When you're in the conversation with a prideful person 29:12 they are masterful at turning it around 29:17 to where the focus is on them. 29:20 How often do we do that to someone who comes to tell us 29:23 one of their problems 29:25 and we start telling them one of our problems? 29:30 The haughty heart of Satan is made manifest 29:35 in mankind... even within the church. 29:39 Now this may not sound like you. 29:41 You may be saying: "No, I'd never do what 29:43 Shelley Quinn just said she did. " 29:45 It may not sound like you. 29:48 But what about when the pressure's on in the heat of 29:51 controversy? What comes out of your heart? 29:54 Is it His humble heart or Satan's haughty heart? 29:59 Are you dogmatic and have angry outbursts? 30:02 You know, prideful people have a hard time admitting 30:05 when they're wrong. 30:07 There's a lot of finger pointing, 30:08 blame shift, and justify. 30:11 And I want you to know: I know some really humble 30:15 people who are not... They're humble in church, 30:19 they're humble at work, but they're not humble at home. 30:22 If you're humble, the place that you should let your 30:26 humility shine is in your home. 30:30 This is where you should be the most humble. 30:33 We are to submit to one another. 30:35 You are to be kind to your spouse. 30:38 You are to be humble before your spouse, 30:40 and that simply means self-sacrificing love. 30:46 You know, God puts His finger on the pulse of pride. 30:50 In context, scripture defines pride as disobedience. 30:57 Disobedience is prideful. 31:00 Every time we disobey we are being self willed. 31:05 We are putting self above God's Word. 31:09 And by the way, I want to tell you: 31:10 when you do obey don't get proud about it. 31:13 You only obey by grace. 31:16 You know, it is only if God works in you to will and to do 31:18 His good pleasure 31:20 'cause you can't save yourself. 31:23 So disobedience is when people refuse to acknowledge 31:29 God's rule. That's what happened with Adam and Eve 31:33 wasn't it? What was their sin? 31:34 They wanted to be like God. 31:38 "Eat of this and your eyes will be opened. 31:40 You'll be like God. " PRIDE. 31:42 "Yeah, I'd like to be like God. " 31:45 "Let me decide what's good for my life, what's bad 31:48 for my life. " The Tower of Babel... 31:50 the same sinful pride of self glorification was evident. 31:55 And God expelled these sinners from their homes. 31:59 The vanity of human pride and arrogance was the preeminent sin 32:05 of God's people in the Old Testament 32:07 and I would say in the church today. 32:10 They had pride in human resources 32:14 rather than in the Lord. 32:17 They became comfortable and complacent 32:20 like the Laodicean church. 32:23 And what happened - I'm going to skip through this - 32:27 is this: 32:31 when you look at pride 32:34 God sets Himself against those who don't have His humble heart. 32:40 Paul wrote something interesting to Timothy. 32:43 Just make a note of it if you want. 32:45 It's I Timothy 3:6. 32:47 He's talking about electing elders. 32:49 Don't get a novice. And here's the quote: 32:52 "Don't get somebody that's a brand-new baby Christian 32:55 lest if you're elevating them 32:59 being puffed up with pride 33:02 he fall into the same condemnation of the devil. " 33:07 See, pride's inconsistent with true devotion and discipleship. 33:13 It exempts faith. It makes it absolutely impossible. 33:16 Christ prayed that we may be one as He and the Father 33:20 are one so that we might display the indivisible unity 33:24 of God. And the church will never be able to bear witness 33:30 to the true identity of God 33:33 until such time as we stand unified 33:36 and reflecting His humble heart. 33:43 The common element in history of God's people 33:46 is that pride was the prelude to their destruction. 33:50 Why? 'Cause pride invites the antidote 33:56 from God. You know, throughout the Bible 34:00 every time someone lifted themself up 34:03 God loved them enough to send them humbling circumstances 34:10 because He did not want them to be lost for eternity. 34:14 The pride of Israel led them to repeatedly rebel against God. 34:20 They had evil actions, evil deeds. 34:24 And the surest antidote against this poison of pride 34:28 was a humiliating experience. 34:31 And God brought it to them. 34:33 He sent them prophets over and over to warn them 34:36 that it was coming 34:38 but they generally did not heed the message of the prophet. 34:42 But finally the exile came. 34:45 The Babylonians humbled His people. 34:48 And God loved that Babylonian king - king Nebuchadnezzar - 34:51 enough to even humble him 34:55 when Nebuchadnezzar was lifted up in pride. 34:58 God... You know, pride brought his insanity. 35:02 Pride can bring insanity. 35:05 But God humbled him. He spent seven years 35:08 with the mind of an animal. 35:10 And when he repented and came to himself, God restored him. 35:15 So sometimes God allows suffering 35:20 to instill humility. 35:23 And sometimes even God's blessings we need to be 35:27 careful about. Because we can be like Israel 35:32 who thought: "Oh, we're God's remnant people. 35:35 We're the chosen people 35:37 and we don't have to worry about anything. " 35:40 But you know what? Paul - who had these marvelous 35:45 revelations - wrote to the Corinthians 35:49 in II Corinthians chapter 12 and he said: 35:51 "Lest I should be exalted above measure... " 35:58 which would bring his downfall... 36:01 "God sent me a thorn in the flesh. 36:04 And I prayed three times 'Lord, remove it. ' " 36:07 But God didn't remove it because He knew Paul needed 36:12 that thorn in the flesh. 36:14 And finally... It's not that Jesus didn't answer his prayer 36:21 'cause the third time he prayed this is what he heard: 36:24 "Paul, My grace is sufficient for you 36:28 for My power is made perfect in weakness. " 36:32 And Paul says: "Ha! I will celebrate 36:36 all of my infirmities, all of my problems 36:40 because when I'm weak then I'm strong. " 36:42 You see, the root of humility is love. 36:47 It's love for God and it's love for man. 36:51 John 14:15 Jesus said: "If you love Me, 36:56 obey My commandments... keep My commandments. " 36:59 But now... you got your finger there in Philippians 2? 37:02 Let's look back because if we are humble before God 37:06 we will be humble before men. 37:11 We're going to look back at Philippians 2 37:14 and we're going to back up just a little bit. 37:17 Before Paul is talking about Christ 37:21 here's what he says to us. Philippians 2 verse 1. 37:25 He said: "Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ... " 37:30 and there is - "if any comfort of love... " - 37:35 oh, and there is - 37:37 "if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection 37:40 and mercy, fulfill my joy by being likeminded... " 37:45 Be united! 37:47 "having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 37:51 Let nothing be done through selfish 37:56 ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind... " 38:02 In humility is what that's saying. 38:05 In lowliness of mind. 38:07 "in humility let each esteem others better than himself. 38:12 Let each of you look not only out for his own interest 38:16 but also for the interest of others. " 38:19 What would our world be like 38:21 if we all had His humble heart? 38:24 What would our world be like 38:27 if we were all looking out for the needs of others 38:33 and esteeming them more highly? 38:37 You know, God said: "Be holy 38:42 for I am holy. " 38:45 I think we could also say 38:47 "Be humble for I am humble. " 38:50 You cannot be holy - you cannot live a sanctified life - 38:55 if you're not humble. 38:58 If His humble heart is not in you, 39:03 if you heart's not beating one with His, 39:06 you're not holy. 39:08 And you want to know the secret to holiness? 39:11 Ah, I love this scripture: I Thessalonians 3:12-13. 39:17 Paul said: "May the Lord make you increase and abound 39:22 in love... " That self- sacrificing love of humility. 39:26 "to one another and to all just as we do to you... " 39:30 Why? "so that He may establish 39:34 your hearts blameless... 39:38 that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness 39:42 before our God and Father 39:44 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 39:46 with all of His saints. " 39:48 Do you want to be holy? 39:51 All you have to do is say: "Oh, Lord, fill me 39:53 with Your Holy Spirit. " Romans 5:5 says 39:58 that "God sheds His love abroad. " 40:01 He pours out His love into our hearts 40:05 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 40:08 See, God is holy, God is love. 40:13 The Holy Spirit is the spirit of holiness 40:16 but He's also the spirit of love. 40:18 So when He dwells in you 40:21 the humble heart of heaven 40:25 will become your way of life. 40:31 That's self-sacrificing love. 40:34 Turn to Galatians chapter 5 please. 40:36 Galatians chapter 5. 40:40 I want to show you something. 40:44 His humble heart, the self- sacrificing love of Christ, 40:49 His humility, His meekness, His gentleness, 40:53 can be ours through the power of the Holy Spirit. 40:56 Hallelujah! 40:58 Galatians 5... 41:02 chapter 5 and verse 22. 41:04 "But the fruit... " Notice that's singular. 41:08 There are not nine fruits of the Spirit. 41:12 There is one fruit, and this one fruit 41:16 is like a multi-faceted diamond if you will. 41:21 This fruit of the Spirit, 41:23 the work which His abiding presence within us accomplishes, 41:28 "is love, joy, and peace, 41:32 longsuffering" - which is patience 41:35 and even temper... having forbearance - 41:38 "kindness, goodness or benevolence, 41:42 thankfulness, gentleness... " 41:46 which is synonymous - gentleness is synonymous 41:51 with meekness and humility. 41:54 So humility and self control 41:59 is a fruit of the Spirit. 42:02 If we are rooted in His love - 42:05 His humble heart - the root is good. 42:08 And if the root is good the fruit's going to be good. 42:10 Amen, Mollie? 42:13 Humility develops from the power of the Holy Spirit 42:16 living inside of us. Therefore, it is a working 42:21 of God's grace. It is God working in us 42:25 to will and to do. And I'll tell you, 42:29 everything about a humble person... 42:32 the evidence of their humility... 42:35 is all just the opposite of what we talked about 42:38 with the prideful person. 42:40 The humble walks in obedience. 42:43 The humble doesn't put themselves first. 42:48 The humble... they regard others 42:54 with... they're constantly trying to uplift others, 42:59 encourage others. 43:00 I want to tell you: I live with what I believe 43:04 is one of the most humble men in the world. 43:08 My precious husband J. D. Quinn 43:11 is so humble. He's always putting everybody else first. 43:15 If we're at church and we stay for fellowship lunch 43:20 we're going to be the last in line. 43:21 He's always encouraging. 43:24 Always uplifting someone else. 43:26 I don't care how much of a hurry we're in 43:28 he is going to take the time to encourage someone else. 43:32 His business is never more important than someone else's 43:36 business. But I have to tell you this wasn't always so. 43:41 He wasn't always this humble. 43:45 He prayed for humility. 43:49 He saw the need and said: "Oh Lord, make me like You. 43:55 I want this mind to be in me that was in Christ Jesus. 43:59 Let me be humble. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. " 44:05 And God has done such a marvelous work. 44:09 It's such a joy to be his wife. 44:11 And he is equally as humble at home 44:15 as he is at work or on the road. 44:18 Praise the Lord. But I have to tell you: 44:21 some people see humility as a weakness. 44:25 A lot of the world sees humility as a weakness. 44:29 But humility does not deny the power and the authority 44:35 that God has given us. 44:37 Jesus said these things. 44:40 They came from His humble heart. 44:43 "I am the Bread of Life; I am the Light of the world; 44:46 I am the Good Shepherd; I am the Resurrection 44:48 and the Life; I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; 44:51 I am the True Vine. " 44:54 This One who was perfect in humility 44:59 knew who He was. 45:02 He knew His power and authority. 45:04 And I believe that... You know, I have this 45:08 ongoing conversation with Jim Gilley. 45:11 He'll say: "Shelley, now don't get fooled because of... " 45:15 You know, we talk about who's humble or who's not. 45:18 And he'll: "Don't be fooled by someone's personality. 45:22 Just because someone has a shy, retiring personality 45:26 does not mean they are humble. 45:27 Sometimes their heart is lifted up with pride. " 45:31 And just because someone may be rather loud and boisterous 45:36 and ta-ta-da doesn't mean that they're prideful. 45:39 They may have the most self-sacrificing love there is. 45:42 But the humble... When His humble heart is within us 45:46 it causes us to recognize 45:50 who we are in Christ Jesus. 45:54 We are not weak. 45:56 See, true humility is just exactly... 46:00 My husband taught me to pray for humility. 46:02 I didn't pray for it specifically, 46:04 I prayed to be surrendered. 46:06 And you have to be totally surrendered to be humble. 46:08 But I've added that to my prayer 46:10 and I'm so glad that he taught me that 46:13 because it has my eyes more focused on that quality 46:18 of humility. But we have to be absolutely 46:24 surrendered to the Lord to receive this humble heart. 46:29 To walk in obedience. 46:32 And can I get on a... I'm going to get on my hobby horse 46:35 for a second. Did you know Pacific Publishing 46:43 is my publisher or who publishes my books I should say. 46:49 The Lord gave me a teaching on grace, 46:51 and I called it the Grace Pipeline. 46:53 There is a program that's coming up on that. 46:55 But they told me: "Oh, you cannot have grace in the title. 47:00 It will not sell. " 47:02 And I said: "What? " 47:04 And they said: "You know, Adventists are afraid of grace - 47:06 teachings on grace. They have heard some bad teachings. " 47:10 Oh please don't let an incomplete or a bad teaching 47:15 on grace turn you off from grace 47:17 because everything in the kingdom is by God's grace. 47:22 Everything. And if we recognize 47:27 it is not our sin that causes us to recognize 47:33 our pride or our pride that causes us 47:38 to recognize our sin. It is the grace of humility 47:42 that causes us to recognize our sin. 47:45 And we need to surrender so that we may draw on God's power. 47:53 I want to think about just a moment 47:58 some of the humble men in scripture. 48:01 Abraham was certainly a humble man. 48:03 Joseph... brought out of prison. 48:06 Clean shaved; new outfit. 48:08 Taken before the Pharaoh 48:10 to interpret the dream of the seven cows... 48:13 lean cows, seven fat cows. 48:15 You know, after what he had suffered it would have been 48:18 easy when the king said: "I hear you can interpret dreams. " 48:22 "Oh, yes, king. I am here. I can interpret your dream. " 48:26 But no, he said: "No, not I. 48:30 It is not in me, but God will give you the answer. " 48:34 Moses - the Bible says - was the most humble man 48:39 on earth. 48:40 David was humble. There's so many. 48:43 John the Baptist. But Paul... I love our dear brother Paul. 48:48 Persecuting Saul - which was his old name - 48:53 became submissive Paul. 48:56 And Paul said in I Corinthians 15:10 48:59 "By the grace of God I am what I am. 49:03 And His grace toward me was not in vain. 49:06 But I labored more abundantly than they all. 49:08 Yet not I... but the grace which was in me. " 49:13 You see, all of these great men learned one thing: 49:17 that the very model of humility and service - 49:22 if we're humble before men we're serving mankind - 49:25 that was modeled to them and they realized 49:31 that they had to follow in that model. 49:35 Because Jesus said: "Whoever desires to become great 49:40 among you shall be your servant. 49:42 Whoever of you desires to be first 49:45 shall be slave to all. 49:47 For even the Son of Man did not come to save 49:50 but to serve... " I mean "did not come to be served... " 49:54 of course He came to save - 49:55 "but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. " 49:59 Always in scripture humility is a positive quality. 50:03 Humility commends us to God. 50:07 And guess what? Humility leads to exaltation by God. 50:13 The Bible says that God dwells... 50:16 God actually says this. 50:19 That He dwells with the humble in spirit. 50:22 That He looks to the one who is humble 50:25 and trembles at His Word. 50:27 Humility brings us into fellowship with God. 50:31 Humility requires, of course, 50:36 that absolute surrender. But God gives grace 50:41 to the humble. The scripture, I Peter 5:5 and others, 50:45 says that He resists the proud; 50:48 that He gives grace to the humble. 50:52 "Be clothed with humility" He says. 50:56 But listen to this point: 51:00 pride invites the antidote from God. 51:05 Humility avoids humiliation. 51:11 When we humble ourselves before the Lord 51:13 we don't have to worry about God sending us 51:16 some type of a trial. 51:19 You know, Proverbs are filled with it. 51:21 How humility comes before wisdom. It ushers in honor. 51:25 It helps you retain honor. 51:27 So in conclusion pride is a great sin. 51:32 Humility is a great virtue. 51:35 And we should never think too highly of ourselves. 51:39 We need to take heed lest we think we stand we fall. 51:44 Grace - God's grace - is sufficient to deliver us 51:48 from the temptation of pride. 51:50 And salvation by grace leaves no boasting 51:54 for our good works. 51:57 No room for pride in salvation by grace. 52:02 Paul said to the Philippians: "Let this mind be in you... " 52:06 This same humble mind that was in Christ Jesus. 52:09 Our lives must be guided by His humble heart. 52:14 By His motives to glorify the Father. 52:18 All who participate in the life of Christ will be humble 52:21 because that is a condition for fellowship. 52:26 Are you humble? 52:28 Is His humble heart beating in you? 52:33 The life of Christ living in us brings us the mind of Christ. 52:37 He made Himself of no reputation. 52:39 He delighted to do God's will. 52:41 He calls us to do exactly the same. 52:45 He says: "If anyone would follow after Me, 52:49 let him deny himself. 52:52 Let him pick up his cross daily 52:56 and follow Me. " 52:59 I'll tell you what: we need to make it 53:01 the desire of our hearts. 53:04 We need to pray that God will impart 53:09 humility to us. 53:11 We need to humble ourself before the Lord 53:16 that He might lift us up. 53:18 We need - not just the Seventh-day Adventist church 53:23 but every church on earth, 53:26 every human being on earth - 53:28 needs to recognize pride distances them from God. 53:34 And we need to come before Him and we need to pray 53:38 for correction. You know, I love what Jeremiah says. 53:41 He says: "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. 53:44 It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. 53:48 O Lord, correct me... but with justice. 53:53 Not in Your anger lest You bring me to nothing. " 53:57 Pray for correction. You don't have to worry 53:59 that God is going to be too harsh with you. 54:02 God is all loving. 54:04 And when you pray for correction you're open for correction. 54:08 And when we recognize God is our all-in-all 54:11 we will recognize our own nothingness. 54:14 Let me tell you: would you agree with this statement? 54:18 I believe it's a scientific fact. 54:20 Water seeks the lowest level. 54:23 Right? When you humble yourself 54:27 before the Lord, when you come before Him 54:31 with a lowly attitude on your knees saying: "Lord, 54:34 I know I am nothing without You" 54:38 He will fill you with living water of the Holy Spirit. 54:44 And we need His grace. 54:49 The humble will seek God for this grace. 54:53 James chapter 4 verses 5 through 11 says this: 55:01 "Do you think that the scripture says in vain 55:04 the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously 55:09 but He gives more grace. " 55:13 Praise God. He's always giving us more grace. 55:17 And the three greatest gifts of grace are the gift 55:21 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 55:23 the gift of the Holy Spirit, 55:25 the gift of His Word... that when it's implanted in our heart 55:29 it has the power to save our souls. 55:32 And then he says... we're in verse 6: 55:35 "Therefore... " he says... "God resists the proud 55:40 but gives grace to the humble. 55:43 Therefore, submit to God. 55:47 Resist the devil... " and his haughty heart 55:51 "and he will... " and I added his haughty heart... 55:55 "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 55:59 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 56:05 Cleanse your hands, you sinners. 56:09 Purify your hearts, you double minded. 56:13 Lament and mourn and weep. 56:15 Let your laughter be turned to mourning, your joy to gloom. 56:18 Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. 56:21 He will lift you up. " 56:26 I want to tell you that the most important 56:33 prayer of our day 56:36 is to ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit. 56:39 Day by day we have to die to self. 56:42 Day by day we need to surrender control of our life 56:45 to the Lord. And day by day we need to pray 56:49 that His humble heart 56:52 will beat as one with us 56:56 or ours with Him. 56:58 And when we reach this point 57:00 the beauty of it is the work will be finished 57:03 because the church will stand united... not divided... 57:07 and we will give evidence 57:11 of the true character of the Living God of heaven. 57:15 God bless you all. 57:17 I hope that His humble heart is in you. |
Revised 2014-12-17