Would you turn with me in your
Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 12. I really felt like the Lord blessed
the meeting in Casey County this week, Southern Baptist Church.
I felt like I had some liberty to preach the gospel. I think the last night was the
night I felt the less liberty, whatever that means. And Cody
Groover called me to ask me about the meeting and so on. And I
told him that he said, well, that's probably the one Lord
bless the most. So I'd say it probably is. But, um, I was very
encouraged with it. Second Chronicles chapter 12.
Now the inspiration to this message came from reading this passage
of scripture. And it came to pass when Rehoboam,
that was Solomon's son, had established the kingdom and had strengthened
himself, he forsook the law of the Lord and all Israel with
him. And it came to pass that in the
fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, came
up against Jerusalem because they had transgressed against
the Lord with 1,200 chariots and three score thousand horsemen. And the people were without number
that came with him out of Egypt, the Lubams and Succiums and the
Ethiopians. And he took the fence cities,
which pertain to Judah and came to Jerusalem. Then came Shemiah
the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah that
were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said
unto them, Thus saith the Lord, you have forsaken me. And therefore have I also left
you in the hand of Shishak. Now what fear that must have
caused when he made that announcement to them. Whereupon the princes
of Israel and the king humbled themselves. And they said, the Lord is righteous. And when the Lord saw that they
humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemiah saying,
They have humbled themselves. Therefore, I will not destroy
them, but I will grant them some deliverance. And my wrath shall
not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shashak." I've
entitled this message, Humbling Ourselves Before God. When the prophet announced to
the children of Israel that they were going to be destroyed, their response was, the Lord's
righteous. Whatever he sends our way, he's
righteous. They humbled themselves under
his mighty hand. Now, how many times do we read
of this in the scripture? where men rebel, God chastens,
and they humble themselves under his mighty hand. And he removes
his hand when they humble themselves. Now, I want to be somebody, even
this morning, I want to be somebody who truly humbles himself before
God. And I pray that that's what each
one of us will do, truly, genuinely, in our hearts, to humble ourselves
under the mighty hand of God. Look in 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5. Verse five, likewise you younger,
submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one
to another and be clothed with humility. Humility is the clothing
of God's elect. Remember, put on therefore as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, humbleness of mind. Colossians
3.12. Be clothed with humility for
God resists the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. Now it takes humility to humble
yourself before God, doesn't it? So what I want to ask is,
What is humility? What does the Bible mean by this
word? When we're told to clothe ourselves
with humility, what is humility before God? We can't humble ourselves
if we don't have some understanding of what humility actually is. Humility is not low self-esteem. You can have low self-esteem
and be as proud as a devil. The Lord Jesus Christ was and
is humble. He described himself as being
meek and lowly in heart. And he didn't have low self-esteem.
He thought it not robbery. He thought it not to be a thing
grasped for to be equal with God. He didn't have low self-esteem,
yet the Lord Jesus Christ was and is humble. Humility is a just estimate of
yourself. Now let me repeat that. Humility
is a just estimate of yourself. Turn with me for a moment to
1 Corinthians chapter 15. Paul says in verse nine, for
I am the least of the apostles that am not meet to be called
an apostle because I persecuted the church of God, but by the
grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than
they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with
me. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. Now that's humility. That's the
best definition of humility there is. By the grace of God, I am
what I am. Now what am I? What am I? Well,
first of all, And I say this to my sorrow, and I say this
to my shame, but I'm a sinner. I am a sinner. I know that's
so with regard to me. I was listening to the TV message
this morning, and the publican crying out, God, be merciful
to me, the sinner. And I believe I was enabled to
cry out the same thing right there with him. I am a sinner,
and I know it's only by the grace of God that I know that. There
was a time when I didn't understand that. I do now, and that's by
the grace of God. I'm not what I was. I used to
have no love for Christ. I love him now. I used to didn't
even know what faith meant. I believe now, and that's by
the grace of God. I'm not what I would be. I know
what I don't, I don't want to completely know what I would
be, but I know what I would be apart from his grace right now,
today, today, I would be, there's no sin I wouldn't commit. I would
be a monster. And if I'm not, it's only by
the grace of God. That's what Paul meant when he
says, I am what I am by the grace of God. I'm a saint. And that's by the grace of God.
I'm a sanctified one. I'm justified. I stand before
God without guilt because of the righteousness of my Redeemer
and Him putting away my sins. And I know that's by the grace
of God. I'm forgiven. And that's by the
grace of God. I'm preserved. I'm continuing
looking to Christ right now, and that is by the grace of God. I've been called by God to preach
the gospel, and I've been equipped by him to preach the gospel.
I'm a gospel preacher, a God called gospel preacher, and that's
by the grace of God. I know that's only by the grace
of God. In 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7,
Paul asked this question, who maketh thee to differ? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? Now, if you're a believer, you
do differ. You do differ. Who makes you
to differ? God made me to differ. I know
that. That's what humility is. God
made me to differ. He made me to differ when He
chose me before time began. He didn't choose everybody, but
He did choose some. The Lord said, you have not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. God made me to differ by His
choice. God the Son made me to differ when He died for my sins. He didn't die for everybody's
sins. That those He died for, He made to differ because He
put away their sins. And now I stand before God without
guilt. God the Holy Spirit made me to
differ. When He created life within me,
born of the Spirit, God made me to differ. You know that,
don't you? If you've been made to differ,
you know God made you to differ. is honesty before God. Pride is delusional. Let me repeat that. Pride is
delusional. A proud man is dishonest to the
core and God hates pride. He resists the proud. He's opposed to the proud. God
hates a proud look. and a haughty spirit." The scripture
says, pride cometh before destruction and a haughty spirit before the
fall. And humility is so beautiful,
isn't it? You know, even around people
who don't know the Lord, even around people you're around,
say when you go to work or whatever, who would you rather be around?
A proud, arrogant person or a self-deprecating person? You know who you prefer
being around. I love what John Calvin said
regarding humility. He was asked by somebody once,
what are the three greatest Christian graces? He said, well, first
humility, second humility, and third humility. Be clothed, Peter
said, with humility. Now, where does this humility
come from? Where does it come from that
makes a man actually humble himself before God? Well, it comes from
the grace of God. Humility before God is not found
in the natural man. It's the work of the spirit of
God in a man that causes him to humble himself before God.
No natural man has this humility that the scripture is speaking
of. This humility that's the gift of grace. Now, where does
it come from? Well, it comes from God. It comes
from his spirit. It comes from his grace, but
it comes from seeing some things. True humility before God, first
of all, comes from a sight of the majesty of God. David said, when I consider the
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which
thou hast ordained, what is man that thou should take thought
of him or the son of man that thou shouldest visit him? What
is man? What am I that God would look
in favor upon me? Humility comes from a sight of
the sovereignty of God. Would you turn to Daniel chapter
four? Daniel chapter four. Now, to
say God is sovereign is simply to say God is God. To say God is sovereign, to say
God is God indeed. Now, this is the story about
Nebuchadnezzar. I'd like to begin reading and Now, the Lord had told Nebuchadnezzar
he was going to be judged, and he didn't pay any attention to
what was said. Verse 29, At the end of the twelve
months he walked in the palace of the king of Babylon. The king
spake and said, is not this great Babylon that I have built for
the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the
honor of my majesty?" While the word was in the king's mouth,
there fell a voice from heaven saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee it's spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. And they
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the
beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass
as an oxen, and seven times or seven years shall pass over thee,
until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of
men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the
thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and
did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of
heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his
nails like bird claws. And at the end of the days, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding
returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion
is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom is from generation
to generation and all the inhabitants of the earth, and he's including
himself, are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou?
At the same time, my reason returned unto me. And for the glory of
my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned to me, and my counselors
and my Lord sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom,
and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works
are truth, and all his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride,
like me, he is able to abase. Humility comes from a side of
the holiness of God. Turn with me in Isaiah six. Before I read Isaiah six, I'd
like to read a few verses out of Isaiah chapter five. Verse eight of Isaiah chapter
five. Woe unto them that join house
to house. lay field to field. Verse 11,
woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may
follow strong drink, that continue until night till wine inflame
them. Verse 20, woe unto them that
call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and
light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for
bitter. Verse 21, woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes
and prudent in their own sight. Verse 22, woe unto them that
are mighty to drink wine, men of strength to mingle strong
drink. Woe unto them, woe unto them. Chapter six, verse one, in the
year the king Uzziah died. I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne. high and
lifted up, and his train filled the temple, and above it stood
the seraphim, and one had six wings, with twain he covered
his face, with twain he covered his feet, with twain he did fly,
and one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the
Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory, and the
post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and
the house was filled with smoke, then said I, woe is me, Not woe
unto them! Woe is me, for I am undone, because
I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts. Humility before God, comes from
a sight of His holiness, and it comes from a sight of the
grace of God. Paul said, unto me, who am less
than the least of all the saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. You see, the Lord has made it
to where only the humble can hear the gospel. Turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. Verse 26, for you see your calling brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, Not
many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,
and base things of the world, and things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not. to bring to nought
the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it's written, he that glorieth. Let him glory
in the Lord. Humility has some great advantages. And here's the first one we just
read in James. God gives grace to the humble. God gives grace to the humble. And this is what I need. I need
the grace of God. I need the grace of God. Now the only thing that prevents
a man from believing sovereign grace, what do I mean by sovereign
grace? Well, it means God does a saving. That's all it means. If you're
saved, it's because He chose you to be saved before time began.
If you're saved, it's because Christ died for your sins before
you were even born. If you're saved, it's because
God the Holy Spirit did a work of grace in your heart and did
something for you. intersected you. He intervened in your life.
That's what sovereign grace means. It means God does it all. And
the only thing that would prevent a man from glorying in that is
pride. That's it. Pride. If somebody
doesn't like that, it's because they're proud. It's because they
think they have something that could recommend them to God.
But, oh, to that one who has a just estimate of himself. And
he knows that in and of himself he's nothing but sin. Paul said,
I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. To that man, grace is good news
because it's utterly free. Free grace, unbought grace, unearned
grace. The humble soul knows that if
it wasn't for grace, he would not be saved at all. God thinks
most of that man who thinks least of himself. That's the truth. What's an advantage
of being humble? God has said to dwell with the
humble. Look in Isaiah 57. Isaiah 57. These are the words
of the living God in verse 15. Isaiah 57, for thus saith the
high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy
place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit. to revive the spirit of the humble
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. The only person
that God will have fellowship and communion with is the humble
soul. Psalm 138.6, though the Lord
be high, yet hath he respect to the lowly. And did you hear
that? God actually has respect toward
the lonely. But the proud, the scripture
says, he knoweth afar off. Now the only way to have harmonious
relationships in the church is through humility. Turn with me
to Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two. Verse two, Paul says to the church
at Philippi, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded. Having the same love, the Lord
Jesus Christ being of one accord, of one mind, let nothing be done
through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, humility. Let each esteem other. better than themselves. Now do you reckon people will
be at odds with that kind of attitude? No, they'll walk in
sweet fellowship and harmony. Now Proverbs 13 10 says, only
by pride cometh contention, but with the well advised is wisdom.
Now here's the key to what I'm talking about. Turn to James
chapter four. I'm asking you to turn to a lot of scriptures,
but I want you to see these with me. James chapter four. Now in verse 10, He says, Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.
That's a promise. If we humble ourselves, He'll
lift us up. And look at the next thing He says, Speak not evil
one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his
brother, and judges his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and
judgeth the law. But if thou judge the law, thou
art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There's one lawgiver
who's able to save and destroy. Who are you to judge another?"
Now, he tells us, you humble yourselves under the mighty hand
of God and speak not evil one of another. When I do that, I
become a judge. I take and I irrigate to myself
that which belongs to God only. Now, humility is so beautiful. The humble soul is the grateful
soul. If you're humble, that means you're grateful for any
crumb of mercy that comes your way. You're thankful for any
favor God gives you. The humble soul is approachable,
it's gentle, it's easy to be entreated. The humble soul receives
rebuke and it profits from it. Like David said, let the righteous
smite me, it shall be a kindness to me. Let him reprove me for
it shall be excellent oil that shall not break my head. Now,
what does it mean to humble yourself before God? What's it mean? I want to do it, don't you? Whatever
it is to humble yourself before God, I want to do it right now
in my heart. Peter said, humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time. I want Him to exalt me in due
time. And it won't happen apart from me humbling myself under
His mighty hand. Now, turn with me to Luke 18. We have here a fellow who did
not humble himself before God and a fellow who did. Luke 18. Very familiar parable. The parable
of the Pharisee and the publican. Verse 9, and he spake this parable
unto certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous
and despised others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray. The one, a Pharisee. and the other, a publican. The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee. Now, that was a lie. He wasn't
really thanking God. He was thanking himself, but
he said he was thanking God. God, I thank thee that I'm not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give
tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven. But
he smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Literally, God, be propitious
to me, a sinner. He's not just asking for general
mercy. He's saying, oh Lord, let the reason for your anger
against me be removed by the perpetuatory sacrifice of Christ. I know the only way that you
can accept me is for my sin to be removed. Oh God, be propitious. Let my sin be washed away through
the blood of thy Son. God, be merciful to me, thee
sinner. Verse 14, I tell you, 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." Now here's somebody who humbled himself
before God. How did he do it? By confessing
who he was. God be merciful to me, the sinner. Even now, that's the prayer of
our hearts. God, be merciful, be propitious. Let my sin be
removed through the blood of your Son. Remember that passage
of Scripture we just opened the service with in 2 Chronicles
chapter 12? When he humbled himself, what
did he say? The Lord is righteous. Now if I humble myself before
God, I say that whatever He does with me is right. If He sends me to hell, He's
right. If He saves everybody in this
room but me and He passes me by, He's right. If He sends these
awful judgments like Shyshack and the Egyptians with 60,000
horsemen and 1,200 chariots and countless men to destroy us,
He's righteous. And the Lord looked at him and
he said, see how he's humbled himself under my hand. I'm gonna
remove my hand and I'm gonna deliver him. Whatever he does
is right. The humble soul justifies God.
Now there's two kinds of people in this world. People who justify
God and people who judge God. That's the only two kind of people
there are. People who justify God. They justify whatever he
does. And there are people who sit
in judgment on God and disagree and find fault with his way of
saving sinners. Now the humble soul is that one
who justifies God and says he is righteous in whatever he does. A humble soul is one who hears
the gospel. Now when I humble myself before
God, I hear the gospel. Psalm 34.2 says, The humble shall
hear thereof, and be glad. Now let me ask you a question.
When you hear, salvation by grace. When you
hear, to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, does that make you glad? If you hear, it makes you glad. The humble soul delights in the
gospel, hearing the gospel, and the humble soul takes the lowest
seat. Now here's what it is to humble yourself before God. Look
in Luke 14, verse 7. And He put forth a parable to
those which were bidden, when He marked how they chose out
the chief rooms, saying unto them, When thou art bidden of
any man to a wedding, Sit not down in the highest room, lest
a more honorable man than thou be bitten of him, and he that
bade thee and him come and say to thee, give this man place,
and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when
thou art bitten, go and sit down in the lowest room. And when
he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, friend, go
up higher. Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them
that said of me with thee for whosoever exalts himself and
takes the highest place shall be abased. And he that humbled
himself shall be exalted. Now, no place is too low for
the humble soul and no service too low for the humble soul. May God give me the grace. May
God give all of us the grace to always take the lowest seat. Turn back to first Peter five.
This is part of humbling yourself before God. Got two more scriptures. First Peter chapter five. Verse six. Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you
in due time. And notice there's not a period
after the word time. The thought is not finished.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him. For He careth for you. The humble soul casts his care
upon the Lord because he knows he can't do anything about it.
And he knows the Lord can. Oh, wouldn't it be a blessing
for every one of us right now to simply cast, roll all our
burden, all our care upon the Lord for he careth for you. That's what it is to humble yourself
before God, is to cast all your care upon Him. Now here's the
last scripture I want to look at. Turn to Matthew chapter 18.
Matthew 18, verse one. At the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus, saying, Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? It's
a good question. Who is greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? And Jesus called a little child
unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and he said, Verily
I say unto you, except you be converted and become as infants. That's the word, infants. You shall not enter the kingdom
of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child. The same is greatest in the kingdom
of heaven. Now, what about an infant? What
about an infant? I know this, an infant is completely
dependent. An infant can't feed himself. An infant can't clean himself.
An infant has to be carried wherever it goes. Now, if you're somebody who can't
feed yourself, you can't even hear the gospel unless God gives
you hearing ears and places it within you. You can't walk. You have to be carried by the
grace of God. You can't even clean yourself. He's the one that must clean
you. That person who humbles himself as this infant is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven. Now, what is our goal for our
children? We want our children to be independent
human beings, don't we? We want them to stand on their
own two feet. We want them to be responsible. We want them
to be independent. What does the Lord want for His
children? The exact opposite. The exact opposite. Those who
are completely dependent upon Him. And the Lord says, Whosoever
therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same
as the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Peter said, humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God. It's a lot better to humble yourself
than to have to be humiliated. May God give each one of us the
grace to do this even now, to humble ourselves under the mighty
hand of God, believing his gospel, that he may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon him. Now, what I think is glorious
about this passage of scripture, this is given to believers. It's
given to believers, isn't it? He's speaking to believers when
He says, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He
may exalt you in due time. And it's counseled to believers.
Only believers can do it. But you know what? We have the
same message for unbelievers. If you're an unbeliever, if you're
without Christ, if you're without God, if you're without hope,
humble yourselves under His mighty hand. Whatever he does is right. Believe his gospel and he'll
lift you up. The same message for unbelievers
that we have for believers. Humble yourselves under his mighty
hand. Oh that God would enable us to
do that. Let's pray together.