“True Humility” Conclusion
Broadcast #1629
December 24, 2023
Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 1629 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text
Phil: He didn’t go around and hobnob with all the important people. And just sort of, you know, push all these unimportant people aside. The very people that he sought out were the least likely for any other human being to have any association with.
What about the woman at the well? Boy, if there’s hope for the woman at the well, there’s hope for anybody. How many times has that been pointed out? Here was a woman who, in the first place, she was a Samaritan, so the Jews didn’t have anything to do with them. They would despise them, look down on them. Half breeds, little bit of Jewish tradition to them, but a little bit of heathenism. Just a different people, they’re not part of us. They’re not one of us, we’re God’s people and they’re not.
So Jesus goes over there. But not only that, this woman was immoral to the point where her own society shunned her, had nothing to do with her. And in that culture, the very fact that she was a woman by herself would put her in a place where no respectable man would want to even be associated with her, to talk to her. But Jesus, led by the Father, what was happening came straight from the heart of God who saw a woman that He loved and cared about.
You wanna know what humility is about? That’s it. Jesus humbled Himself to talk to that woman, to bring her to a place where she acknowledged her need. But He didn’t take that need and rub her nose in it. He came down with a message, not of condemnation but of hope, of mercy, of love, to the point where when she was done with that she ran to her people and told ‘em all about it. And He stayed there for three days with the people. You talk about humility, that’s a pretty good example of it, isn’t it?
And what about the woman taken in the act of adultery? And all those religious people ready to stone her? Didn’t pay any attention to the man involved, which they should have, if they were gonna really follow the law. But there she was utterly caught in sin, despised, every reason in the world to shun such a person. Why should I, somebody of my importance, associate myself with that?
But He did, didn’t He? He said, woman, where are your accusers? After He’d finished writing on the ground and they all left. He had said, let him that is without sin cast the first stone. Talk about divine mercy and wisdom. And He looked up and nobody was gone. Said, where are your accusers? Has no one accused you? No, no one Lord. Said, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.
Do you want to know what true humility is about? It’s that spirit of mercy that reaches down to that which is the, considered the dregs of humanity, the worst of the worst, and yet to have such a heart of compassion that you’re more concerned at that moment with them than you.
We’re not exactly like that, are we? And yet, this is exactly what Paul was talking about, wasn’t it? This is what the exhortation that God was giving through Paul had everything to do with what I’m talking about. The Creator of the universe was now standing in Palestine meeting with ordinary people, going after them.
And what about taking a special trip, through a storm no less, across the Sea of Galilee, because there was a maniac over there that nobody could do anything with and he lived at the tombs, didn’t wear any clothes. Nobody could bind him, nobody could do anything with him. But God in His mercy came down and focused His divine attention upon that man that nobody else thought anything of, except, just get rid of that guy. What could we do with him? How do we deal with this? And yet, God in His love and mercy reached down to that man and drove those spirits out and set him free.
Over and over and over again we see that same heart that reaches out in what is true humility. You know, you could go through the whole gospels and you see how He reached for lepers, the 10 lepers that He told to go. And while they went, they were cleansed and one returned. What did it say about him? Who was the one who returned, what was he? He was a Samaritan, wasn’t he? Am I remembering that correctly? Yeah, so there was an extra emphasis on it. This is the probably the least likely guy that you would pay any attention to. And he’s the one who came back and said, thank you. Praise God!
What does that begin to tell you about God’s heart and what our heart needs to be? What is the message of Christ coming down? I started to say that God’s, that the humility there was in Christ was toward God, which is right toward his Father but it was for us, that was the focus, that was the purpose. I’m humbling myself before Him, but I am doing it for you. Everything I’m doing is not to advance me and make me something. It’s so that I can help you. My entire life, the purpose of my existence at this point is what I can do for you and not for me.
That’s the heart of divine nature. You know, we describe it as love and that’s one word. But love in action, humility’s a pretty good word, isn’t it? It’s when I value somebody else more than I value myself. And you talk about somebody who, like I say, by every earthly measure, this is somebody who, why would somebody that important, why would the figure who sat in that temple that Isaiah witnessed, why would somebody like that pay any attention to us?
But He did and that’s the hope and that’s the message. That’s why we can rejoice, not just in His birth, but the whole reason that He came. ‘cause it says, and being found, in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death.
Now again, we tend to think, oh I’m humbling myself to God and His purpose. No, He humbled Himself so that He can help us. That’s why He humbled himself. ‘cause I know what’s gonna come from this. I will gladly lay down my life. It’s worth the cost that I have to pay because of what I can do for people who otherwise have no hope. Praise God! - Amen. - Praise God. - Amen. - Praise God!
He humbled Himself, how? By becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. “Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.”
There’s so many scriptures that I thought about in connection with this. And I don’t want to try to go everywhere preaching the gospel, but I want to get the thoughts across that the Lord I believe laid upon my heart. And I can’t find it here. Yeah, one of ‘em is in Hebrews chapter two. Because we see God’s purpose we see a lot about how he carries it out, okay?
See God’s purpose was not just to have a son it was to have a family. It was to involve not just His son Jesus, but to involve an entire company, entire family. So He says in verse 10 of chapter 2 of Hebrews, well, let’s go back to 9, what do we see? “We see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor.” Why? “Because He suffered death so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
How did He do what He did, by the way? - [Member] By the grace of God. - By the grace of God, yeah. He needed a lot of divine strength there, like we do. In “bringing many sons and daughters to glory.” There’s the purpose. Does that involve anybody here this morning? Praise God! Has God heart toward you to bring you to a place of glory one day where we stand there shining like the sun, not because of anything in us, but because of His purpose, because of His mercy, because of His grace. - [Member] Praise God. - Praise God!
But what did it take to make that happen? “In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God for whom and through whom everything exists should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what He suffered.” Think about that. When the purpose of God to build a family and here’s the son of God who’s already created the universe, already been this amazing figure that angels would fly around and just be overwhelmed with His amazing power and glory. But yet, according to this scripture, He wasn’t still perfect, He wasn’t still complete. It was something lacking.
Does that sound crazy? That’s what it says. He was made perfect or complete through what He suffered. It was something that God was doing in Him. Does it sound like you and I need the same thing, maybe? - [Member] Amen. - Amen. - Does this make some sense out of what we read in the scriptures where we are being conformed to the image of His son? - [Member] Amen. - That He might be the firstborn among many brethren or brothers and sisters.
You see what God is doing in us? He’s working in us, the same thing, He already did that in His son, His own son had to come that way. Had to learn obedience by the things He suffered it says in another place in Hebrews. There were things that He learned by being here, going through, standing for God and standing for truth in the face of a broken world. - [Member] Amen. - Living in a body that didn’t wanna do it, didn’t wanna cooperate.
He came this way and He did it, not so that He could be somebody, but so that you and I could. That’s why He came into this world. You talk about the ultimate example of humility. There it is, wow.
Now here’s something else that’s amazing. All right, both the One who makes people holy, That’s Him, that’s Jesus. Both the One who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. Okay, so what’s the consequence of that? “So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”
Give me a break. But that’s what it says! You think about you in your worst moment. All that’s lacking in us, all that God still has to work out and has to help us with. And there’s Jesus saying, that’s my brother, that’s my sister. At our worst moment, I mean, when we’re ashamed. When we are ashamed.
And it’s good that we can be ashamed when we need to be. We don’t need to live there, we have a place we can go and have that be dealt with. But in that moment He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. He knows what we’re going through. He knows how to save us completely. He knows to pray for us when we need it.
Does that sound like somebody who’s so important or self-absorbed and it’s “all about me?” When it comes to Him, it’s all about us. It is 100% about us. That is what He’s doing. God gave Him the job of building the church, of bringing it to glory, bringing many sons and daughters to glory. And that is what? 24/7 that is His absolute focus, the focus of His existence.
My God, is that just a little bit different than how life works down here? Every once in a while you might, I mean you’ll see somebody that’s important. maybe a politician. And they’ll come down and hobnob with the poor folks. And I’m afraid far too many times all they’re after is the vote and the photo op, it’s not real. I’ll leave to open the possibility that there’s some sincerity here and there. But, I mean, what a contrast there is.
Oh God, help me to be more like that. God, I have no chance. How can I even think like that? I wasn’t wired that way. But that’s where Jesus comes in. When God birthed this first creation He did it through His son. When Jesus went to the cross He became the embodiment of that corrupted creation and God poured out His judgment upon His son. There was a sentence that was passed upon this creation. You’re gonna live for this world? You’re living for something that God’s already sentenced to destruction.
But when Jesus came forth from the tomb a new creation was born. - [Member] Amen. - All He had to do is keep speaking. And that’s what He does. He speaks His word into human hearts today and all down through the ages, He has spoken His word. Just like He said, let there be light. He said, let there be, that’s what Paul said, isn’t it? The same one who said, let there be light spoke to my heart, gave the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And he said, if anyone is in Christ, he’s what? - [Member] A new creation. - A new creation. There’s a new creation happening under our noses. Of course, if you’re the Lord’s it is under your nose, I guess. All right, no foolishness or not too much anyway!
But oh, what an amazing thing that God is doing. And one day, on God’s schedule, we’re gonna see all of this be burned up. And all that’s gonna be left is the brand new creation. And the life of that creation is God’s life. That’s what He’s sharing with you and with me. If your heart is willing, He will birth you and you will, it’s not just Jesus that’ll be His child, His son, every one of us can call Him Father.
Everyone who opens their heart and says, yes, I’ve turned from my own way. I put my faith in your power to save me. Jesus is my Lord, I confess Him. I’ll tell you, there’s something that happens in a heart that’s willing to do that, God will absolutely come in and they will be a birth that happens. And you will absolutely have, He’s not just this God out there somewhere but he becomes Father, He’s my father.
And then He goes to work, doesn’t He? You know, one of my favorite scriptures, I guess, in Philippians follows this. Here’s Paul telling us what God desires. He wants us to have a humility that causes us to value others above ourselves. Then he uses Jesus as the ultimate example.
Then he follows this with therefore, meaning look in view of what I have just said, therefore, verse 12 of chapter two, “My dear friends as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
So Paul doesn’t just tell him what to do. He tells him how to do it. Say, we come to God, He works. He does something supernatural in here. So now what, what am I supposed to do with that? I’m supposed to put that into action. I’m supposed to learn how to take what He has given me and put it into action so that now I can begin to fulfill His purpose for me.
I think the thing that struck me the most about this simple truth though of true humility and the fact that Jesus is the ultimate example and as the perfect expression of God, the Father in it, that humility comes from the throne. But it’s this, I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what little you think of yourself. I don’t care the depth of your need. Jesus, the very one that we’ve been talking about, who spoke the world’s into existence, cares about you today, He came down. That’s the reason He was born. That’s the reason He did what He did because He cares about you.
And it’s got to come down to something very, very personal. It’s wonderful to sing about what Jesus did in this general thing, but it has to come down to this, Jesus came to this Earth because of you. Because of you and you and me. The depth of my need, my situation was utterly hopeless. But He didn’t just throw up His hands and say, who cares about them? They’re nobody anyway.
It’s true in one way, we are nothing. But in the heart and the valuation and the mind of God, we are of inestimable value. Because He made us and He made us to love Him to live with Him, to possess eternal life. Don’t ever say I’m worthless, I’m nobody. Don’t ever look in the mirror and become negative and focus upon yourself and all your lack. Focus on the one who came, who was willing to be born out of the womb of a virgin, to live a humble life, to reach out to the lowest of the low in his day, and then to go to a cross.
And He did every bit of that with you in mind and your need. Praise God, praise God! Praise God, talk about somebody who’s worthy of our worship, worthy of our lives, to give them to Him and to give Him all the glory and the praise. And then for Him to say, I’m not ashamed of them. I died to save them, and I’m gonna bring them through. They just put their lives in my hands, I can handle it.
Oh God, help us to become more like Him, to understand what that means because that has everything to do with our relationships with one another. If we are the center of our own little universe, that’s a pretty sad package. But the Lord wants us to have His heart, to where we are so concerned with walking together and caring about people. And if somebody comes in who’s the worst of the worst, we can reach out in love and mercy just like He does. Because we’re all the same.
I mean, you think about what we are. Think about what we are in this little world, and then think about that amazing, amazing Son of God that reigns in glory. Oh, and that He would absolutely say that the hairs of your head are numbered. And when you go, you comb and some of them come out, He keeps track of that too. Wow, it just boggles the mind. But I just worship Him this morning. - [Members] Amen.
I want to trust Him, I wanna believe Him. I want to see my own life and my own value, not in a prideful way, because if I’m gonna try to create value out of myself in some human way, that’s just fantasy. That’s vain deceit. I’m fooling myself. But if I can see myself through the cross and through what it cost Him to bring me into union with the Father, to share His life, to call me brother, oh my God, what an amazing, amazing thing that is!
How worthy He is of all of our praise and all of our whatever, whatever we got. But that also makes me somebody, not pridefully, but it makes me of value to Him because of what He paid, the price He paid. Oh, praise God!
I just pray that God will give everyone here the grace to understand what He’s been trying to convey this morning in spite of me, but just the amazing awesomeness of what humility really is about. That here is ultimately the God of all gods. The very one who dwells in light, that’s unapproachable, immortal, invisible, no one’s ever seen Him, and yet this is His heart toward you this morning.
And He wants you to know that. And He wants you in spite of who you are and where you’re at and what you’ve done and whatever other circumstances might come into your mind that the devil would love to plant there, He wants you to come to him through his son and through what He’s done, hand your life over to Him with joy, with gratitude, and then say, God, go to work. Work in me and then help me to work that out and just to grow up. Just like your son had to learn by being here. We use our time here to learn and to grow into what we will become. To God be the glory, to God be the glory. This is what true humility is about. To Him alone be the glory, praise God!
