Humble Living

Humble Living (James 4:1-10; 13-17) When in conflict, look for the cause within Unfulfilled desires, wrongly pursued = anger, conflict Not ask God? Draw Near to God – Pray (Matt. 7:7-11) Ask to spend for pleasure? As opposed to for His glory (1 John 5:14) Has there been a failure to humble myself and fully submit to God? The consequences to the congregation of lack of humility Provocation & Envy (Gal. 5:26, Rom. 1:29-32, Prov. 14:30) = Disunity (Contrast: Humility preserves unity, Phil. 2:1-4) Envy: "a feeling of antagonism towards someone because of some good which he is enjoying but which one does not have oneself ; a coveting for oneself of the good which someone else is enjoying; the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others; a desire to deprive another of what he has. Envy cripples relationships (Think of the brothers of Joseph). Envy undermines respect for authority (Think of the sons of Korah) Envy prevents us from appreciating and enjoying what God has given us (Think of Haman and the enemies of Daniel) Envy holds back our spiritual growth (1 Pe. 2:1 & 2, Luke 8:14) Incessant quarreling is a sign of carnality and immaturity. Paul writes, "You Corinthians are still infants in Christ… You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" (I Cor. 3;2,3) Pride/Self-Glory: There is only one who can receive glory, and when we try to steal some of His glory for ourselves, we commit the same sin that caused Satan to be cast out of heaven!

The Holy Spirit within is jealous (wants us to live for God) Adultery occurs when one person looks outside the exclusive relationship of marriage to get his emotional and sexual needs met. A third party is added to the relationship that does not belong. Spiritual adultery occurs when Christians look outside their relationship to God to get their needs met. A third party, the world, is invited into the relationship. So not be befriended to the world (1 John 2:15-17) Nor worship self Are you a “Full Service” Christian or a “Self Service” Christian? Part of living for God is making plans in accord with His will (James 4:13-16) Humility Humble: gentle, mild, meek, free from arrogance or vanity, deferential, peaceable, obedient, yielding Being humble as a Christian also means to recognize our sinful condition and our need for God’s grace. We should be grieved by our sin. (James 4:8-9; Rom. 7:17-23) We need to refrain from boasting (James 4:16) The person who knows to do good, must do so (James 4:17) This is a positive obligation like seeking justice (Micah 6:8) The Lord’s command that we be humble servants to Him & to our brothers & sisters in Christ (Matt. 18:1-4, Luke 9:46-48, 22:24-27, Rom. 12:3 &10, Gal. 5:13, Eph. 4:2, Phil. 2:3-4, Col. 3:12) How far should we be willing to go in our service to God & our brothers & sisters in Christ? (John 15:13) The rewards from God for being humble servants Grace

(Prov. 3:34, James 4:6, 1 Pet. 5:5-6) Grace means favor, mercy, undeserved kindness

Honor/Esteem/Exaltation (Prov. 15:33, 22:4, 29:23, Isa. 66:2, Matt. 23:11-12, Luke 14:10, 1 Pet. 5:6) Esteem means to have a high opinion of, value greatly, have a high regard or respect for Exaltation means honor, glory, praise Life

(Prov. 22:4)

Wealth

(Prov. 22:4)

Wisdom

(Prov. 11:2)

Our Lord’s example of humility & service Jesus washing the feet of His disciples (John 13:3-17) Jesus taking human form, suffering and dying on the cross (Phil. 2:5-11) If our nature is to be proud & self-seeking, how can we find the will to be humble servants? (Rely on the Holy Spirit, Phil. 2:13; Focus on loving God more than on wanting anything else)