Humble yourself is an action, not a concept

[thecreationtutor]

John 13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,[a]but is completely clean. And you[b] are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

I have been listening to the series Authentic Jesus - Harvest Bible chapel and they have a 2 part sermon on Humility and it's gut wrenching

I think of times on here where I have wanted the high position on my views of Scripture, but "let God be found true and every man a liar" Yes I have strong beliefs, but the authority is not me, it's Christ.

Romans 13 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

I can respectfully disagree, but I still owe the person God's love

ROMANS 14:10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess[b] to God.”

12So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

God is the one who is able to make His servants stand - truth in time go hand and hand - we can agree to disagree on the minors

I have to be careful since I have a lot of free time, to post things on the website - that I am not just knowing a lot of things making myself puffed up, vs actually applying the things I know. Or having to have the last word in an argument "yeah but, yeah but"

The series ended with 3 things
Humble yourself to God's words - Do what it says, don't debate it
Humble yourself to God's hand -situations God has allowed to change your character
Humble yourself to God's church - no self autonomous Christianity

 

[Blain]

Also to be humble and to humble ourselves and our hearts it is a constant effort as well. we are humans, so we naturally act and see and think arrogantly and ignorantly. so to constantly humble ourselves goes against human nature, which is why we see people and judge them according to what we see. it could be there looks, their voice, or just because of who they are. but if we were to humble ourselves daily and only seek to see them out of love we have to keep a close watch on these eyes of ours. if we begin to judge people even if we do not like them we have to catch ourselves and humble ourselves by reminding ourselves it is not our place to judge anyone but to be humble and loving.
I notice in the gospel jesus acted differently to the pharasee's because of how wicked they were. and I have often wondered how I should treat or see such people in this world if Jesus judged the pharasee's like he did. Then it hit me, Jeuss judged the pharasee's because he is the ultimate judge and the only judge. God the father Gave Jesus the authority to judge not us, so if I were to come across such people I must remain humble and loving.

 

[Quickfire]

While we cannot see hearts, we can see and judge actions, you know the scripture (faith without works is dead) There are times God calls on us to discern others, actions because of their effects there sins may have on us. For example, the Bible tells us to avoid angry people and those whose sins may rub off of on us an the bible tells us that the spiritually mature are those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil, i think in corinth some where or hebrews i canrt be sure, (but will post later,)We are not to judge where a person stands with God, because we are simply incapable of doing so. But we must be able to discern both good and evil in the actions of ourselves as well as others in order to grow in wisdom and avoid falling into problems ourselves

 

[2Thewaters]

Same with the word Sabbath, it is an action, not a concept.

 

[p_rehbein]

depends on your definition of "concept" I suppose........if you mean a "mental state," then not so.

Before one can "actively" humble themselves, they must be in the proper spiritual state of "humility" in my opinion.

 

[thecreationtutor]

depends on your definition of "concept" I suppose........if you mean a "mental state," then not so.

Before one can "actively" humble themselves, they must be in the proper spiritual state of "humility" in my opinion.

You can't learn about humility as a concept - this is how you are humble, then go in your prayer closet and be humble - that's actually pride. "Look at me I am being so humble now" You have to humble yourself - humble yourself in prayer to God, or to the word in submission, or to another brother in Christ, or your boss. Have to do something

 

[joeyruready]

I would like to hear more about this study you went through. Humility is a topic I believe to be essential to practice. God has taught me a lot about humbling myself over the years.

What does humility look like?
Besides the fact that God tells us to practice humility and humble ourselves why should we do it?
What does it mean to practice humility?
When I meet or speak with or get to know someone who is humble or who practices humility how are they obviously different from anyone else I might meet?
What are practical applications of practicing humility before God, and before others?

One question I am going to ask and answer. What is humility related to and how? We know God is truth, and we know God is love(scripture tells us both these things) we also know God is perfectly humble, because Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the father and Jesus exemplified humility...he did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped but rather made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant...

When I was sixteen I was shown the verses in 1 Corinthians 13. lets see how humility compares to love

LOve(humility)is patient. LOve(humility)is kind. It (humility does not envy) IT does not boast it is not proud(lol humility is not proud!!!) it is not rude it is not self seeking... I expect you gather my meaning by now. Humility and love are very closely related right up there with Truth.

Here is my testimony. God is true. God keeps HIs promises. God lifts up the humble and indeed God has lifted me up. God keeps in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed in God because he trusts in God. God is keeping me in perfect peace. The benefits of practicing humility is to literally have all of God's power available to you. This doesn't mean lightening from your fingertips or healing anyone you want when you want. It means all of the fruits of the spirit of God flowing through you in power. Humility is one of the keys to entering into the kingdom of God. Matthew 18:3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

[thecreationtutor]

I would like to hear more about this study you went through. Humility is a topic I believe to be essential to practice. God has taught me a lot about humbling myself over the years.

What does humility look like?
Besides the fact that God tells us to practice humility and humble ourselves why should we do it?
What does it mean to practice humility?
When I meet or speak with or get to know someone who is humble or who practices humility how are they obviously different from anyone else I might meet?
What are practical applications of practicing humility before God, and before others?

One question I am going to ask and answer. What is humility related to and how? We know God is truth, and we know God is love(scripture tells us both these things) we also know God is perfectly humble, because Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the father and Jesus exemplified humility...he did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped but rather made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant...

When I was sixteen I was shown the verses in 1 Corinthians 13. lets see how humility compares to love

LOve(humility)is patient. LOve(humility)is kind. It (humility does not envy) IT does not boast it is not proud(lol humility is not proud!!!) it is not rude it is not self seeking... I expect you gather my meaning by now. Humility and love are very closely related right up there with Truth.

Here is my testimony. God is true. God keeps HIs promises. God lifts up the humble and indeed God has lifted me up. God keeps in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed in God because he trusts in God. God is keeping me in perfect peace. The benefits of practicing humility is to literally have all of God's power available to you. This doesn't mean lightening from your fingertips or healing anyone you want when you want. It means all of the fruits of the spirit of God flowing through you in power. Humility is one of the keys to entering into the kingdom of God. Matthew 18:3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

here are the links, it's a two part series - You know, I have a friend, and I haven't been the most friendly, and something happened last night, and i had to humble myself - and see that I was wrong, even though i wanted to be right; but God was able to show me something in my life that is REALLY wrong - so God definitely uses humility in our lives if we humble ourselves

Teaching | James MacDonald | Walk in the Word
Teaching | James MacDonald | Walk in the Word

 

[p_rehbein]

You can't learn about humility as a concept - this is how you are humble, then go in your prayer closet and be humble - that's actually pride. "Look at me I am being so humble now" You have to humble yourself - humble yourself in prayer to God, or to the word in submission, or to another brother in Christ, or your boss. Have to do something

.......yeah, that's what I said................being in a proper "spiritual state of humility"............

 

[thecreationtutor]

Here is one - someone doesn't agree with your exact theology, say Free-will vs Doctrines of Grace, but they would hold to Ephesians 4:1-6 what do you do?

For the sake of unity - you can still love and work with them, it might take humbling yourself, and saying I cannot unscrew the inscrutable, and I am not THE authority - they have the content.

What I see, and can be guilty of is when people go into left field and start calling people false teachers, and creating video snippets of the ones they accuse, instead of watching the whole sermon, or observing their life for fruit, etc. Many times it's the one whose not doing anything for the kingdom that takes this high view and starts criticizing the servants in the game from the sidelines

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Yeah, I think too that ones personal relationship to God should be the standard for how situations and people are 'dealt' with. To have and understand how God is the only one who really matters. I think that would probably be one of the more mature stances a Christian can hold. To be able to really live for and by Christ you have to have a personal faith and understanding for who Christ is, what he's done, and why your serving Him, and to be able to stand on that for yourself. But then after that, you realize that doing all that on your own is great but doesn't really amount to anything if its not for other people. Learning to be humble is great, but to be humble for humilities sake is foolish really. The whole point of being humble is for other people. Christians don't really need anything else because we have Christ. That's why he expects us to be able to have enough faith to be sacrificial. The only way for someone to find themselves is to lose themselves through self-denial. Lose your life and you find it. Try to keep it and you lose it.

 

[thecreationtutor]

Yeah, I think too that ones personal relationship to God should be the standard for how situations and people are 'dealt' with. To have and understand how God is the only one who really matters. I think that would probably be one of the more mature stances a Christian can hold. To be able to really live for and by Christ you have to have a personal faith and understanding for who Christ is, what he's done, and why your serving Him, and to be able to stand on that for yourself. But then after that, you realize that doing all that on your own is great but doesn't really amount to anything if its not for other people. Learning to be humble is great, but to be humble for humilities sake is foolish really. The whole point of being humble is for other people. Christians don't really need anything else because we have Christ. That's why he expects us to be able to have enough faith to be sacrificial. The only way for someone to find themselves is to lose themselves through self-denial. Lose your life and you find it. Try to keep it and you lose it.

Not sure if God relies on our faith - faith is a gift - the faith that God gives does not fail - the way up with God, is down with self , all of Grace

 

[joeyruready]

Faith without works is dead. Why? Because we express our faith by what we do. I believe I can fly. This is a belief. Obviously no one can fly. It becomes faith when I step off a cliff. Truth hits me in the face when I fall to the ground.

Love without action is dead. Love isn't love until you give it away. WE all know the words. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. IT is not rude. It is not self seeking. It is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Do we practice love? Am I patient? Am I kind? Do I envy? Do I boast? Am I proud or rude or self seeking? Do I keep a record of wrongs? Do I delight in evil? Do I rejoice in the truth? AS we practice loving others we become more loving and better at it. The more love we give away the more we have. This is the way of God in all things.

Humility is the same. A person isn't humble by thinking I need to be humble, or I am humble or any such thinking. A person becomes humble by PRACTICING humility. What does humility look like in practice? There are hundreds of examples in scripture. Examples for us to practice although it is obvious many people do not practice humility. Lets examine one example from scripture.

The example that is always foremost in my mind is Jesus made himself nothing. To be honest I used to hate this verse. I didn't understand it. How could my precious savior become nothing? This is actually the point. Jesus is God yet made himself nothing...how much less than nothing should I make myself? Infinitely less; is my opinion.

Philippians 2:6-8 [SUP]6 [/SUP]Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;[SUP]7 [/SUP]rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.[SUP]8 [/SUP]And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

This is in my opinion the greatest example of humility that exists. We are called to follow God's example, " Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children" and to do for one another as Jesus did for us, "Go and do as I have done for you." Which are yet two more calls to humble ourselves. There are many such calls in scripture of course.

One of the first things I think about humility is just a matter of facing certain truths. I am a sinner. For any one sin I have committed I deserve to be condemned and separated from God forever. This seems to me to mean that I deserve to be separated from God and condemned hundreds of thousands of times over. I am not putting myself down. That isn't what humility is about. Humility isn't about thinking about this truth either. IT is about practicing or living life in a way that exemplifies this truth. It reminds me of the verse, "a good saying is this: Christ came to save sinners of whom I am the worst." This is a mindset, or a way of thinking which is where humility begins because before we can act we have to think. Romans 12:3 [ Humble Service in the Body of Christ ] For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

I will carry on with more examples and also many practical applications of practicing humility if any of you show interest. To conclude this post however I have one last thing to say. When we believe something that is wrong it doesn't matter. I can believe I can fly all day long. It doesn't matter until I move that belief into faith by putting it into practice. As I said, If I believe I can fly stepping off the building or cliff is stepping out in faith. IN the case of that false belief the truth hits me in the face when I plummet to the ground. It is the same for everything anyone believes. Many people believe many things. When they act on these things either things go right or things go terribly wrong. When we believe things that aren't true and practice them...it is just like stepping off that cliff. MOst people don't understand why they are suffering so much pain. I spent 40 years suffering. All suffering comes from practicing false or selfish beliefs.

Today my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Every day I feel lifted up by God and every day I feel HIs precious spirit flowing through me in power. It is my desire that everyone of you receive everything from God that I have. It isn't a matter of God being slow in giving. IT is a matter of us being slow to practice His word and put ourselves into a position to be able to receive what God continually desires to give to us all.

All glory and honor and power and praise always be to our God and father from whom all good things come.