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Bible Text

Proverbs 25:6-7 

Luke 14:7-14 

Hebrews 13:1-8 

By Rev. Edem Sapati   - 
Theme:  “Humility brings exaltation”/“Dokuibↄbↄ  doa ame de dzi”

 

Introduction

It is a humbling experience to preach on humility as you cannot do so without first examining your own life. The focus of true humility is always God and a truly humble person is someone who has been emptied of self and pride and is filled with Christ. Humility is all about doing what God wants and not what you want. 

 

Jesus teaches us in prayer ----------Let thy will be done not our will lord. 

 

In God's creations plan, he decided that he will fill man with his purpose, power, glory and presence so that man can share that power, presence and glory with his creation, be it man or not, his eminent, his glorious presence and power was such that he created a domain where another personality will share his image, who bear the mark of God and will be positioned to show forth his power and presence.

The apostle Paul understood this and did what God called him to do. He grew in humility till he could confidently say “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”. (Gal. 2:20) In examining my own life I can only say I am still growing in humility and still hopeful. “Not that I have already obtained or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Phil. 3:12) 

The best thing that can ever happen to us is to be freed from pride and arrogance and filled with Christ. God expects every believer to glorify Him by living a life of humility, a life that He controls and directs to accomplish His Word. A life without God is filled with pride and selfishness, opposes God and contradicts His Word

 

Humility is a state of meekness; and disposition by which we come to God and live our lives, as God want it in his way. This is what God purpose for man is. Humility is the soil or the ground of all virtues of God grace and without it, life become lived in the cells with no dependence on God and the opposite of this state us pride.

 

 The absence of humility in a life brings evil and sin. We see that in the holy angels, who desired to be on their own, they felt self-exalted and that was disobedience and for that matter were cast out into the outer darkness.. It was pride that led Satan to oppose God and declare “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High”. (Isaiah 14:14)

 

God’s desire was for man to come to a point in his or her life where they can say that “ I am nothing, have your way in my life and let me have what you want me to be” That was what happened in the account of Luke 14, when Jesus had the opportunity to be invited to the home of the Pharisees.

We see people who are full of pride; Pride leads to destruction (proverbs 16:8). Pride is insecurity, anger, envy, tail-bearing, arrogance, people who think they know it all better than everyone else yet they know nothing, pride is hate and above pride is weakness

Humility is a decision; it is a choice to go to God in humility. It is a conscious choice that an individual makes and also emanates/comes from within. Humility is a decision hence we are admonished to follow Christ in humility and he will exalt us. If you make humility an asset in your life, it becomes a firm foundation of your character. He who wants to be greater must be a servant. It is a personal decision. 

Our Christian life, be it in our bedroom, church, workplace and society must portray God’s humility in us. It pays when you humble yourself for in so doing, you will be exalted. Humility is dependable and for us as Christians, it is solid foundation.

Last week was a challenging week for me, my patience was tested, I thank God, and he restores me, because I can’t go back to what it used to be. 


Are you walking in humility? And are you showing it? Jesus is correcting that notion and error that when people are meek in the heart, they must not be written off but rather they will be exalted (Matthew 11:28-29)

Humility must be demonstrated by the principles of love and hurts. God continued by saying when you are having a feast do not call only your friends, love ones but instead call the weak (lame, poor, blind) and by so doing you will have your reward in heaven. When we demonstrate humility we are accepting people in our lives. We are telling them that truly, we have come to know the Lord and by so doing God can use us to bless others.
 

The humble person experiences love, joy, and peace in the home as long as he/she continues to rely on and trust God. God’s exaltation of the humble provides the perfect home where He is glorified. Humility always comes before exaltation. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, humbled Himself before His exaltation. 

(i) We proclaim this truth of His humiliation and exaltation at every service in the Presbyterian Church in the words of the Apostle’s creed. 

(ii) We declare His humiliation when we say that He “Was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried?” 

(iii) And we declare His exaltation when we declare “On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty”.

Application:

The exaltation that God promises the humble is to exalt them to become like Christ. We are exalted to fulfill God’s promise that declares “as He is so also are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17b)

The paths of the world lead to no lasting gain, instead they lead to misery and pain. Unlike the path of service that leads to lasting blessings,

For obedience unlocks the door to God’s promises. It is serving those no one cares about, those who find themselves down and out.

God has a divine plan for each person’s life and it begins and ends with humility. It is humility that allows us to acknowledge that God has a claim on our life as our Creator. 

  1. It is humility that says, “I am a sinner, and I need a Savior”. 

  2. It is humility that enables us understand the truths of the Kingdom.

  3. It is humility that enables us to be exalted to be like Christ. No one, on the other hand, who is proud, will ever gain anything from God. 

  4. (iv) Humility glorifies God      

  5. Humility values the presence of God     

  6. Humility learns from God

 

Summary: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) The cross of Christ is where humility and exaltation come together. In His humiliation, we find our exaltation. Our shame is replaced by His glory. Let us remain humble and obedient for God to exalt us to the praise and glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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