A couple of weeks ago, we talked about humility - what it means to be humble. Today, I want to continue on that topic. A lot of people have the wrong idea of what humility is. They think being humble means you have to let people walk all over you, that you can’t do anything, or that you don’t have anything nice.

 Well sure, you can look at yourself as that, but wouldn’t you rather want to know what God says about being humble? After all, His opinion is the only one that really matters. But let’s be honest. Humility of all the virtues is the hardest one to gain and maintain. Why is that? Because we all want to be first, we all want to be seen, and to simply feel that we are important. And the truth is that we can be all of those things, not in ourselves, but in Christ. In and of ourselves we are nothing - but in Christ, we are everything. 

So, humility- what is it? Well it’s the opposite of pride. And as you may know, this month of June is pride month, but we’re calling it “humble month”. Pride means to boast, to be high-minded, or in other words, to think of yourself more highly than you ought to. Now, this doesn’t mean that God wants us to have low opinions of ourselves, or not see ourselves with value. Rather, it’s a matter of not having the mindset that we are better than other people. 

The reality is, that when we judge or criticize others, it’s the fruit of pride. Pride is the reason you don’t want to apologize when you know you’re in the wrong. It’s the reason you can’t forgive when someone has done you wrong. 

Luke 14:11 says, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” When we look at satan, we see that pride is the reason he fell from Heaven. He wanted the glory for himself - wanted everything to be about him. God sure humbled him. This isn’t something that God takes lightly. He hates pride. 

Proverbs 16:5 “The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished”  Every day, when we wake up, we have a choice to make. Are we going to put the spotlight on us or on Jesus? Are we going to glorify ourselves or glorify Jesus? Are we going to give ourselves the honor or Jesus? Humility is saying and understanding that none of this life is about me and my own gain. It is about pointing it all back to God - the One who has given us everything. 

The Bible says, whatever we do, let us do it for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We were created to bring glory to God, and to lift Him up in all that we do. However, too often, we like to shine the light on ourselves and say, “Hey! Look at me! Look what I’ve done! Look what I’ve accomplished!” I’ve realized, in doing that, we rob God of His glory. 

The word “humble” in Greek means to stay under. The Bible says to “humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor” (1 Peter 5:6). When God doesn’t move you to where you think you should be by now, be happy to stay there until He promotes you. We know He works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I’ve found that sometimes, God will give someone else the very thing I was waiting for. This can stir up pride within me, because I think I deserved it more than they did. But God wants us to celebrate others, celebrate the blessings of other people. He has called us to value others above ourselves (Philippians 2:3). 

We must remember to humble ourselves with everything that God has given us. Just as the Lord gives, He can also take. We see in Daniel 4, King Nebuchadnezzar praised God for the city of Babylon, but 12 months later, he looked out at the city and claimed it to be by his own mighty power that the beautiful city was built. In an instant, a voice from Heaven called out to him and spoke, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom” (Daniel 4:31). 

Reading that should give you some reverential fear of what the Lord can do when we become prideful and claim the glory for ourselves. You can read the rest of Daniel 4 to see how King Nebuchadnezzar came back in his right mind and God fully restored him. 

Pray and ask God to show you every time you’re living out of pride. He looks at the heart and wants us to honor Him in all we do. Don’t grow weary in celebrating the accomplishments and advancements of others. In the right time, the Lord will bless you with what’s meant for you. Praise Him in the waiting and continue to live in humility with what He’s already given.

Today, I want to talk about pride. A message on pride, for purposes of actual change in people’s lives, is a frustrating topic because the people who need to hear it don’t think it’s for them.

I want to challenge you as you read this article to be open to considering that you have a little bit of pride. Keep in mind that if you’re not open to receiving this message you probably need to hear it.

Most of us don’t typically see pride as a real sin. But God detests pride (Proverbs 16:5). No one wants God to look at us like we’re detestable! But, we tend to dismiss pride as a sin. For a different perspective, what if I was talking about lust and I admitted to checking people out. Your response would be “that’s gross” and you wouldn’t want to hear from me anymore. Pride is just as bad. 

Pride is not necessarily ego. Pride is tricky and can manifest by drawing attention to yourself by appearing pathetic. The end result is you are still after people’s attention for yourself. Our job is to put all attention on God. We want to show off who He is. Are you worried about what people are thinking about you all the time? You may be struggling with pride. 

Pride is a pervasive matter. No one wants to admit to it. Honestly, it’s easier for me to admit to it when I’m writing a message about it. Pride is usually why we get our feelings hurt and why we feel rejection. Pride is the reason we can’t admit to making a mistake. Pride causes us to take ourselves a little too seriously. We will resent criticism if we are prideful. Insecurity is a result of pride because we are seeking for others to notice and praise us. Pride causes us to see ourselves as overly important or more special to God than others. Pride will make us want to blame others for our problems.

Mark 7:21-23 gives us a list of things that defile us including pride. 

“For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

So how do we become humble? How do we develop a humble attitude? Humility is not a look. It’s not the way we dress or what we drive. Humility is not about letting people walk all over you. Humility is knowing that God is our source - that all we have comes from God. We’re created to bring glory to God. So often we want to draw attention to ourselves but we need to focus on and bring focus to God.

Humility of all the virtues is the hardest one to gain and maintain because we all want to be first and we want to be noticed and we want to be important. But, we must have everything in Christ and nothing in ourselves. I don’t deserve all God has allowed me to do and be a part of in the natural, but God can do anything with anybody who stays humble before Him.

When I started, I had a big vision with little reality. I kept pressing toward that vision and God, in His faithfulness, taught me humility along that way. I was insecure and wanted to be great and important, but I had to get rid of that attitude. It's humble people God can help. He opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.

We are to have the same attitude as Christ. He is our example of humility. He came from heaven and took on a human body. He never defended himself. His depth of humility is unfathomable. He loved everyone even while He was mistreated. Instead of focusing on Himself in those moments, He was thinking about what those who were persecuting Him were doing to themselves. Those who mistreat you don’t know what they’re doing. He prayed for them! Jesus forgave them. He loved them. 

Humility treats everyone with care and love no matter who they are. Pride is boastful and high minded, thinking of yourself more highly than you should. We don’t have to think of ourselves as below others, but just not more highly than others. Have a servant’s attitude. Judging and criticizing others is the fruit of pride. One of the most important things that reveals our level of pride or humility is how we treat other people, especially people that we or the world might deem as unimportant. 

If you’re going to be in authority, you need to know how to be under authority. You need to learn how to be under authority without complaining and gossiping, even in the privacy of your home. It’s the words you’re putting out there that are the problem. Zip your lip. Use a glue stick instead of chapstick! When you are going through tough times that make you want to complain and be vengeful, remember, often the things that hurt you the most will teach you the most.

Are you in a dark place? God will give you treasures out of this if you submit to Him in the process. Pray for God to do what He wants with you. But be ready. Like a puzzle that has a lot of plain blue or green pieces, one by one as the pieces come together, the big picture will emerge over time as God does a good work in you. We’re each called to do something. God wants to use you. But it will only be under the condition of humility.

How often are we dealing with pride and don’t know it? It's a priority and imperative that you get your heart in the right place, and know who you are in Christ. God is not impressed by the positions we hold, but is drawn to our love, our hunger and our thirst for Him. After seeking His righteousness first, are we pure in heart? How are we treating other people that the world thinks are unimportant? Let’s work at getting ourselves off of our own mind. Look for those who are hurting. Work to bless and encourage someone else. 

Pray and ask God to show you every time you’re in pride. “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us” (Romans 12:3 NLT).

Philippians 2:13 says “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.” Happy Father’s Day! Dads, be encouraged. Faith doesn’t make things easier. It makes them possible. Your past doesn’t define you but rather prepares you. The lid on your life will always be the mirror. Don’t go through it. Grow through it. 

What is the ideal man? Heroes are not made in what they do but in who they are and courage is sometimes just showing up, leaning in when life becomes more difficult. Show up and do your best. Family becomes stronger when they know dad is not going anywhere. Leading your family in a fractured world is tough but knowing Who has the answers is the key. And understanding that God is effectively at work in you to develop the ability to fulfill your purpose brings assurance and strength that has no comparison. 

This is a time of year when champions are identified and a battle ensues over who is the greatest of all time. I would like to explore what may be the greatest miracle of all time. Let’s look at John 6. In this passage we find a miracle of sharing, the ministry of serving and a mindset of staying that transformed the lives of those who were there. The miraculous feeding of the 5,000 (men) in addition to wives and children is indeed great. Jesus involved His disciples, but He had the plan. He knew what was going to happen. People ate until they were full after the blessing and distribution of the loaves and fishes. Can you say, “All you can eat”! This is important. After they ate, there was nothing lost. Jesus had his disciples gather the leftovers. There was no fragment left behind. People believed because of this miracle. 

What can we take away from this account? I say we look at the young lad with the lunch. This boy reminds of my son, Silas and the lunches we used to pack for him when he was younger. There was a lunch prepared for this little boy. It was not much. It was what the boy had and it was what was given to Jesus that day. After being with the people all day, healing and ministering, Jesus’ sympathy was kindled for the people and He did not want to send them home hungry. Philip was from the area where they were and Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread. But He really wanted to know, not what the disciples had, but WHO they could bring. Philip’s conclusion was that anything they had was of no use. But, Andrew had discovered the boy who had his personal picnic lunch - a few barley loaves, the bread of the poor, and two small pickled fish. It was a snack. 

I think we don’t give this boy enough credit. Understand the symbolism. We are the boy. We, like him, have some decisions to make. In his case, he could consume the lunch or he could give it to Jesus. You can eat a meal or you can see a miracle. You can consume what you have or you can contribute it. In the hands of God, it becomes a miracle, a legacy that transforms generations. There are things you are consuming that were meant to be contributed. We are not meant to be a reservoir. We are to be a river, a conduit. I guarantee you that if you contribute the things God has placed in your hands, God’s blessing will saturate you.

We have a tendency to conceal what we have. But we are called to confess it. When we confess it, God is able to bless it. The boy confessed what he had and Philip in turn brought him to Jesus. Concealing a thing ends up costing us more than revealing it. It is a seed in your hands. But, you will never see the value if you only see the vessel. We see the small thing in our hands and worry about the value of it and if anyone could possibly need it or want it. But it has great value when confessed. That is the point God can begin to multiply it. Don’t conceal what God has called you to reveal.

Proximity is crucial You have to be close. Leaders will never see what you have unless you are close. Be at the church. Serve at the church. Roll up to the church. The boy was close. Potential has to be in proximity. Are you in position? Position matters. Where have you left Jesus? Some of us have left Jesus at the place where we stopped going. He hasn’t changed. He is about His Father’s business. He is still where you left him. You’ve got to be close.

Are you willing to be just a voice and not a VIP. We care more about those that follow us than we care about our Father who created us. What was the boy’s name? We don’t know. He was glad to just deliver his lunch. He was happy to deliver what he had for God to do something great with it. Can you forgo being mentioned in the highlight reel? You have to be willing to feed without being famous. 

Your life is great because God is your creator. He does not send brokenness to destroy you but to multiply you. Adam was broken so he could be complete. God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. Jesus healed the people that day and then He fed them. He had compassion and not resentment. He did not condemn their lack of preparation.

Then, after this ultimate show of compassion, Jesus told his disciples to gather up the fragments so that nothing would be lost. There is power in these words. Let nothing be lost. There was a miracle in the feeding of the 5000 but also in the ministry of Jesus at the end of the day. There’s a miracle in picking up the pieces so that nothing is lost. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem from the pieces that were left over. Is your marriage in pieces? Your life? Jesus is in the ministry of finding the fragments so that nothing is lost. What is broken for you? What is damaged? Pick up the pieces so that nothing is lost. 

Revival will be in finding the fragments. When we find them, think of the 12 baskets left over from 5 loaves and 2 fishes. The walls of Jerusalem were built back in record time. Today God wants to gather up the broken pieces so nothing is lost. He is in the ministry of finding the things left behind. We need to care about the crumbs. Christ sees these as blessed. Every fragment represented the blessed. You are blessed. “Gather up” means to lead together, completeness. Without the fragments we are not complete. Brokenness completes us as it did Adam. That day they left with 12 full baskets. 

How do we go from few to full? Find the fragments. Wholeness begins with your relationship to Him. Bring all you have and come to Jesus. Give it to Him and watch a miracle happen and a legacy form.

Do you feel like you’re in the middle - emotionally, financially, relationally? Your situation is better than it used to be, but you’re not where you know you’re supposed to be. 

In James 1:2-4, James tells us “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

For some background, the book of James is one of the oldest New Testament writings. James was a prayer warrior. He was also known as “Camel Knees” because his knees showed evidence of much time in prayer. He died a martyr. He was pushed from a building but didn’t die, so was beaten to death. He prayed the whole time he was being beaten. Most significantly, he was Jesus’ half-brother. Even though he grew up with Jesus, he questioned the idea of Jesus being the messiah until after he had seen miracles and the resurrection. In his book, he never refers to Jesus as his brother, but as Lord and Savior. I believe his words carry some weight.

James starts this passage with “count it all joy when”. WHEN. Not IF. We are going to face trials and they will come in all different types. Don’t be surprised when they come. It’s good to note that James is writing to converted and Jewish Christian’s who have been dispersed because of persecution. But he tells them to count it all joy!

Trials are part of life but, we tend to ask “why” when we’re going through trials.  Know this, your trial could be divine. God is not trying to take you out. He has a purpose. The goal is not to quit in the trial but to go through it. Trials are different from temptation. Temptation lures you away from faith. Divinely purposed trials are like gold in a fire. The impurities rise to the top and the dross is skimmed off…and then the gold is put back in the fire. Trials perfect our faith.

In trials we look for when it’s going to stop. We wait for God to intervene. We say “When” but James says to say “Win”. Stay with it. Go through it. Get the victory. Realize the truth that we are more than conquerors through Him. What are we winning - God’s purpose for our life fulfilled. 

How do we get through the trial? We have a choice. When you’re being hit from all sides, count it all joy. Joy is different from happiness. Joy conditions and sets the environment. Joy is the unrelenting thankful trust in God in spite of circumstances. Have feelings but don’t let feelings have you. Working on your mind, what you listen to and watch, helps you command the feelings. Don’t go by what you see. Go by faith in God. Faith is stepping out when you’re not sure, knowing God’s got you.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. The trial of the cross was on the way to the benefit. There is something waiting on the other side of your trial. The devil will work to convince you that God is not a good father and will lie to you regarding your situation. And, enduring with joy does not mean we won’t experience pain. But in joy, we will have hope and purpose through the process. Joy yields patience. Trial produces active endurance, like a runner finishing a marathon, one step at a time. If we deal with trials opposite of faith we can become bitter, fearful, and full of doubt. It limits creativity. God is producing something in you so count it all joy, no matter what it feels like. God is more concerned with your character than your comfort. 

Set your mind and let God produce what He wants for your life. Faith is tested by trials so understand, faith is already there. All you need is already in you. You are tested to reach your potential. Let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Perfect doesn’t mean without flaws but finished rightly and with better maturity, matured to the reflection and nature of its purpose, God’s will for your life. Trust that God’s got something in mind for you. 

When is faith at its finest? Is it a good church service or a much needed miracle? Is it answered prayer or when everything falls into place? No. It’s in the middle of the deepest and darkest times. Think of the three in the fiery furnace, joined by a fourth. Think of David with Goliath declaring “Who are you compared to my God?”  Think of the thief on the cross saying “I believe!” and was with Christ that same day in paradise. It was Jesus on the cross, proclaiming “It is finished”. In the middle of the trial, faith is at its finest. The trial is working for you. It is producing everything needed to bring God glory. Don’t listen to the enemy. He’ll make it someone else’s fault. He does not want you to produce and bring what you have to the world. He wants you to stop in the middle. But faith is at it’s finest, not when everything is right, not when everything feels good but in the midnight hour when God turns it around and you win. 

You’re going to have trials. Are you going to complain? Retaliate? Give up? Count it all joy.  The question to ask is “Where am I going to grow through this?” Don’t get stuck in the middle. Maybe you’re in the trial because your faith needs to be perfected. If you will furnish the faith, God will furnish the finish. Trust Him. Don’t quit. And watch how He will bring about your victory.