Would you turn with me to Second
Chronicle, I mean Second Kings. My glasses are on, I can't see
anything. Second Kings chapter 21. Now this is Manasseh's son, Amnon,
verse 19 of 2 Kings 21. Ammon was 20 and two years old
when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name was Meshulameth, the daughter of Herod's of Jobah.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord as his
father Manasseh did. And he walked in all the way
that his father walked in and served the idols that his father
served and worshiped them and forsook the Lord God of his fathers
and walked not in the way of the Lord. And the servants of
Amnon conspired against him and slew the king in his own house. And the people of the land slew
all them that had conspired against King Amnon. And the people of
the land made Josiah his son, king in his stead. Now the rest
of the acts of Amnon, which he did, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And he was
buried in a sepulcher in the garden of Uzzah and Josiah, his
son, reigned in his stead. Now, would you turn with me to
2 Chronicles 33? I want to read the Chronicles
account. It gives us a detail that Kings
doesn't. Second Chronicles 33, beginning
in verse 21. Ammon was two and 20 years old
when he began to reign, Manasseh's son. And he reigned two years
in Jerusalem, but. He did that which was evil in
the sight of the Lord, as did Manasseh, his father, for Ammon
sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh, his father,
had made, and served them," in verse 23, and humbled not himself
before the Lord as Manasseh, his father, had humbled himself. Look in verse 12 of this same
chapter, talking about Manasseh. And when he was in affliction,
he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before
the God of his fathers. But it said of Amnon, once again
in verse 23, he humbled not himself before the Lord. Let's pray together. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that we might be enabled by your grace to humble ourselves before
thee. We ask for your blessing upon
the service. We pray that you would be pleased
to speak from your word and to give us hearing ears for Christ's
sake. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. And Lord, forgive us of our sins for Christ's
sake. In his name we pray. Amen. Now, Manessa and his son Amnon
were equally evil men. We saw that from this scripture.
They were both bad men. But one did something that the
other did not do. Amnon humbled himself. or Manasseh humbled himself,
and Amnon failed to humble himself. Now, we know it was God that
made Manasseh to differ. I love that passage of scripture
in 1 Corinthians 4, 7, where Paul asks this question, who
makes you to differ from another? I know the answer to that. God
the Father in eternal election. I hope every one of us say, why
me? Why me? God the Son in eternal redemption
when he put away your sin. God the Spirit in regeneration
when he gave you a life that you did not have before. God
makes us to differ. And God was the one who made
Manessa to differ. Why did Manessa humble himself?
God caused him to. Why didn't Amnon humble himself?
God left him to himself to let him do what he would naturally
do. And that was to harden his heart.
And he failed to humble himself before the Lord. Now, what is
humility? It's a good question, isn't it?
What is true humility? before God? What does a person
understand when they humble themselves? Now, I've given this definition. I read it in a message by Charles
Spurgeon, and it is the best definition of humility that I've
ever heard. Humility is a just estimate of
yourself. What is a just estimate of myself?
Well, first of all, I'm a sinner in the scriptural sense of the
word. That's just as to myself. I'm a sinner in the scriptural
sense of the word. What's that mean? I was born
a sinner. I was born bad. It means I'm a sinner by choice. I choose to be a sinner. I can't
blame anybody for my sin. I'm a sinner by practice. That's
the practice of my life. Now that's a scriptural, a just
estimate of myself. If you don't see yourself in
that light, you have an inflated view of yourself. You have an
unjust estimate of yourself. To be a sinner in the scriptural
sense of the word is to know that all you do is sin because
you do it. You believe that about yourself?
You cannot not sin because it's you. You can't blame anybody
for your sin, it's all your fault. And you really feel like you
cannot, you're unqualified to sit in judgment on anybody for
anything because of your own personal sinfulness. You really
believe that. And God would be right if he
passed you by. Now that is a just estimate of
yourself, but let's go on. A just estimate of myself, yes
I'm a sinner, And I say with amazement, I'm an elect sinner.
And that's by the grace of God. And I'm a forgiven sinner. And that's by the grace of God.
And I'm a justified sinner. I stand before God perfect, and
I know that's the grace of God. I'm a redeemed sinner. My sins
have been paid for by Christ. That's by the grace of God. I'm
a preserved sinner. I continue in the faith, and
I know the only reason I do is it's the grace of God. You see,
humility is a just estimate of yourself. You know what you are
in and of yourself, and you know what you are by grace. Now, humility
is not a denial of the gifts or graces that God has given
you. That's just another form of pride
to deny something that is real. But you know where it comes from.
That is humility before God. Let me show you something in
Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. Paul says in verse one, I beseech
you therefore, by the mercies of God, that you present your
bodies, that's everything you are, a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Anything else is utterly unreasonable.
And be not conformed to this world, But be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say through
the grace given unto me to every man that's among you, when you're
going to prove that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God, what's the first thing he says? I say to every man that's
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think. But to think soberly, don't become
intoxicated with pride and self-importance and high thoughts of yourself.
It's so contrary to grace. But to think soberly, according
as God hath dealt to every man the measure of his faith." Now,
once again, the best statement that I think I've ever heard
about humility, and this is not a definition. Humility is a just
estimate of yourself, but the best statement I've ever heard
about humility was said by John Calvin. Someone asked him, what
are the three greatest Christian graces? And he said, number one,
humility. Number two, humility. Number three, humility. Now, another way of understanding
humility is it is the opposite of pride. What is pride? Like humility
is a just estimate of yourself, pride is an unjust estimate of
yourself. It's an inflated view of yourself. It is a denial that God is the
one who makes you to differ. That's what it is. It's a denial
that God is the one that makes you to differ. Listen to this
scripture. Proverbs 6, 17, six things that God hate, yea, and
seven are an abomination to him. And what's the first thing he
mentions? A proud look. That arises from an unjust estimate
of yourself. Now, pride is an inflated sense
of self-importance. It's taken up with self because
it believes itself to be superior to others. It always finds others
and thinks, well, I'm better than them. They need to be like
me. Filled with self-importance. Believes that it should have
the best of everything. Has an elevated sense of entitlement. Requires constant praise. It
manipulates people in order to get its way. advantage of other people. It's
always envious. Proverbs 11 too, when pride cometh,
then cometh shame. But with the lowly, there is
contentment. Now, when I just gave that description
of the way pride is, I thought, well, you're pointing to yourself. I see so much of that in me.
Listen to these scriptures. When pride cometh, then cometh
shame, but with the lowly is wisdom, the humble. Proverbs
13.10, only by pride cometh contention. If there's contention, you know
what's behind it? Pride. Only by pride cometh contention. Proverbs 16.18, pride goeth before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before the fall. Proverbs 16,
five, everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to
the Lord. That's how the Lord sees this. Proverbs 28, verse 25, pride
stirreth up strife. You know, it thrives on drama,
doesn't it? Stirreth up strife. Pride is the most groundless
thing in the world. There's nothing more groundless
than pride. I mean, you think about that.
What do you have to be proud of? As far as like it comes from
you, like I said, it's an inflated view of self. I love what Henry
Mahan said about pride. God hates pride. He hates pride
of race. Think about that. He hates pride
of face. What an ungodly thing. He hates
pride of place, someone being proud of some kind of position
they have, and most especially, pride of grace, religious pride. But how beautiful humility is. And here is the great proof of
the beauty of humility, The Lord Jesus Christ described himself
as meek and lowly in heart. He's omnipotent. He's all wise. You think of the attributes of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious being, the divine being is lowly
in heart. And what I love to think about
him is sinful men and women could come into his presence and not
feel judged and not feel threatened. And he's the one who truly is
holy. Now you get around a religious
man, a real holier than thou man, you feel so judged, you
feel so, you don't even like him. But the Lord Jesus Christ,
meek, and lowly in heart. So you sure can't look at humility
as weakness, it's strength, isn't it? I mean, a humble man, a humble
woman is a strong man or woman. When Paul was speaking of the
clothing of God's elect, he says, put on as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind. What's the
first beatitude? Blessed are the poor in spirit. And if I'm not poor in spirit,
I don't have any of the other beatitudes. You got to begin
there. And you never leave there. If you can leave there, you was
never there in the first place. Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of God. And it's so easy to get
along with the humble. I love what Peter said. All of
you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility. clothed with humility. God resists the proud. He gives
grace to the humble. Micah chapter six, verse eight
says, what did God require of thee but to do justly? Now, the
only way you and I can do justly is if we're justified. Well,
we need to do the right thing. Well, I agree with that. How
have you done there? To do justly is to do justly. That's exactly what justification
is. Justification says, I've done justly. To love mercy, I
love mercy. And to walk humbly with thy God. That's what God requires of me. To do justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God. Now, Proverbs 15, 33 says, the
fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom,
and before honor is humility, always. The fear of the Lord
and humility are twins, listen to this proverb, by humility,
and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life. When Paul says, walk worthy of
the Lord, walk worthy of the vocation, wherewith you recall,
what's the first thing he says? With all humility, lowliness
of mind. Now you see from the scriptures
how important this thing of humility is, a just estimate of myself.
May the Lord give us that at all times, this just estimate
of ourselves. And this is what is spoken of
in what I really believe. I love dealing with this parable
the Lord gives because I believe that this parable is the springboard
for the rest of the Bible. Turn with me to Luke chapter
18. Now here's the Lord's conclusion
to this parable in verse 14. I tell you that this man went
down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone that
exalts himself shall be abased And he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted. So we see here the subject is
what it is to exalt yourself and what it is to humble yourself. So look up at verse 9. Remember Manasseh and his son
Amnon. By the grace of God, Manasseh
humbled himself greatly before the Lord. And Amnon refused to
humble himself. Look in verse nine. And he spake
this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they
were righteous. Now that is what is called self-righteousness. They trusted in themselves. that they were righteous. And what always accompanies self-righteousness? They despised, looked down their
nose upon, felt superior to others. Now, that is who he is addressing. And I can't help but think The biggest problem that me and
you have is self-righteousness. It is the nature of the old man. It's groundless. Self-righteousness. What kind of righteousness comes
from me or you? None. None. Filled with wounds and
bruises and putrefying sores, yet we think I'm some, I'm at least better
than that person. They haven't reached my level
of whatever. Well, let's go on reading. Verse
10, two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee
and the other a Republican. Now these are the two representative
men. These men represent all of mankind. One, the Pharisee. The other, the publican. And
these are the two representative men. Everybody falls under this
representation. Now let's listen to the Pharisee. This is the man who exalted himself. The Pharisee stood, note his
posture. and prayed thus with himself."
And I love the way the Lord points that out. This prayer wasn't
getting to God. He prayed thus with himself. But he was very
careful to give God the glory. He said, God, I thank thee. I'm
not thanking myself. He was far too humble for that.
I thank thee. I'm not thanking myself. I'm
giving you the credit for this. But what was he thanking him
for? One thing that you will see a complete absence of. He doesn't thank him for grace.
He doesn't thank him for the forgiveness of sins. He doesn't
thank him for a sovereign free mercy. He thanks him for this. I'm not like others. There's
a difference between me and other people. I'm giving you the credit
for it, but there is a difference. I'm not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Now, one thing
that we got to point out, everything this fellow said he was not guilty
of, he was guilty of. You see, self-righteousness is
a lie. It's a lie. It's a lie. Everything he said he was not
guilty of, he was guilty of. And he may even have thought,
I'm not guilty of those things, but he still was. He still was. I'm not as other men are. I'm
not an extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer,
or even as this publican. Look at that pathetic person
standing back in the back. I fast twice in the week and
I give tithes of all that I possess. Now, what was he thanking God
for? What he was not and what he did.
Now that is an abomination to God. This man was an abomination
to God. This is a man that exalted himself.
He gave God the credit in a show of pious humility that was not
real. He, I'm going to be humble about
this. I'm going to be humble about
this. I'm not going to be proud. I'm going to be humble about
this. I'm giving God the credit for the way I am. But no, he was
so offensive. Verse 13, here's the man who
humbled himself. Verse 13, and the publican. standing afar off, would not
lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be propitious is the word. Be a sin-removing sacrifice. Do something about my sin. You
know, he doesn't make any promises. Lord, if you save me, I'll start
doing this, and I'll quit doing that, and I'll become... No, nothing like that. He had
far too a just view of himself, knowing how weak and sinful,
and he just wouldn't make a plea like that. God be propitious. To me, the sinner. I know it says a sinner, but
the definite articles in the original, the sinner. That's all he had to say about
himself. That's it. Now look at the Lord's statement
with regard to this. I tell you. I love it when the Lord says
that. I tell you, I say it to you. What about what this preacher
or that preacher said? It makes no difference. I say
it to you. I tell you, this is the Lord telling us. This man,
this poor publican went down to his house justified, without
guilt, without sin, perfect in God's sight. He went down to
his house justified rather than the other who seek to justify
himself. And here's why this is the unalterable
law of the kingdom of heaven for everyone that exalts himself
shall be abased. Write that down. It's for sure.
And he that humbleth himself like Manasseh did. He humbled
himself greatly before the Lord. Now, like I said, these two men
were equally sinful. They were wicked, evil men, presumptuous,
godless men in their conduct. I mean, and you know, the thing
that is, that's a reminder to us that I love it where Paul
says, there's no difference. All have sinned. and come short
of the glory of God. There's no difference between
one man and another. If you think there's a difference
between you and somebody else, you're deceived. You're just
deceived. I'm just like seven or eight
other billion people. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. But he that humbleth himself
shall be May the Lord enable me and you.
I don't want, I want to be humbled, but I want to humble myself.
I want to humble myself. I want to take sides with the
Lord against myself. I want to be just like this publican. He that humbleth himself shall
be exalted. Don't come up with, well, what
about? No. He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.