Humility Impresses God

Scripture passage: Luke 18:9-14

God, the Humble and the Proud

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10)

The humble will be blessed with a greater benefit than all the goods that the world can bestow. Does he not give genuine happiness, comfort, and contentment, and this the world cannot confer? God resists the proud. He is in a battle with those who think very highly of themselves.

The sure way to please God is to acknowledge him in all his ways. God graciously gives aid to all who are humble. We miss out on God’s blessing due to our inability to humble ourselves. That God lifts up those who humble themselves is a consistent biblical principle.

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12) Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

(Luke 18:9-14)

The Pharisee prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”

·         He was standing in the centre of the inner court, right in the heart of the temple, so that he could be heard the clearest and seen the best.

·         We read that he fasted twice a week. The Old Testament required a Jew to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement.  But this man fasted 103 times more than is required.

·         Then we read that he tithed everything that he possessed. The Old Testament required that you tithe your income. But this man tithed everything that he earned and everything that he bought. In other words, he was a double tither. Now, there is nothing wrong with fasting more than once a week or giving more than a tithe. But the problem was that this man was religious and proud of it.

·         This Pharisee suffered from two problems: inflation and deflation. He had an inflated view of who he is, and a deflated view of who God is.

·         This Pharisee says, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men." But he was like other men because "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

·         Prideful prayer is nothing more than an echo in your own ears. Such a prayer never reaches God’s ear.

A tax collector was different from a Pharisee. Tax collectors were the scum of Jewish society.  They charged exorbitant rates; they skimmed extra money off the top. They were so despised that they could not hold public office or even give testimony in a Jewish court because their word was considered worthless and inconsequential.

·         This tax collector was as humble as the Pharisee was proud.  You could see it in his feet--- "But the tax collector stood at a distance." Where the Pharisee went to the center of the court, the tax collector stood on the outer edges of the court in the shadows.

·         You could see it in his eyes. We go on to read that "He would not even look up to heaven.

·         You could see it in his hands. For we read, "he beat his breast." In effect, he was saying, "I have a filthy heart."

You could hear it in his voice. For he says, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" God heard his prayer, for Jesus said, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.”

On the outside, you would have thought the Pharisee was much closer to God, but on the inside, it was the tax collector who was closer to God.

Tony Campolo learns who is wonderful

Tony Campolo was an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, and public speaker. He passed away on 19 November 2024 at the age of 89 years. Tony Campolo narrated an incident in his preaching class while in seminary. It was about his preaching an excellent sermon. Campolo felt pretty proud of his outline, his arguments, and his delivery. He felt pretty proud of himself---until he read his professor's comment at the bottom of the page: “You can’t convince people that Jesus is wonderful and you’re wonderful in the same sermon.” This comment taught him the greatest lesson any believer would learn in life…staying humble and always putting God first.

Progression of humility in Paul

We can always tell whether a person is growing in holiness or not. In proportion to his growth in grace, he would elevate the Master and think less of himself. We see the progression in holiness in Paul. Twenty-five years after his conversion, Paul said, “I am the least of the apostle” (1 Corinthians 15:9). Five years subsequently he said, “I am less than the least of all the saints” (Ephesians 3:8). Still a year later he said, “I am the chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). The more Paul walked with God, the more he became conscious of his own unfitness in the sight of God.

Humility in John the Baptist

John the Baptist showed the same spirit. He came to prepare the way of the Lord. He announced himself unworthy even to undo the shoelaces of Jesus. He declared his unworthiness for the task of baptizing Jesus. John constantly directed the limelight on the Messiah. The bold and fearless John the Baptist, who dared to call wrongdoers a “brood of vipers” right in their face and who gave a stinging rebuke to Herod for his immoral behaviour, soon lost his followers as they all went after Jesus. But he knew Jesus must become greater and he lesser (John 3:30). Finally he lost his freedom and his life. What Jesus said of him was a befitting epitaph, “Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

Conclusion

The way to impress God is not to try to impress him. Humble yourself before him. Surrender yourself and rely entirely on him. Empty all of yourself before him. Humility is the prerequisite to repentance which leads to the forgiveness of sin. Humility is the key of grace and mercy for God to enter and transform your life. Stop the vain attempt to run your fragile and temporal life. Humble yourself under his rightful authority and hand over your life to him. He knows us better than we know ourselves because he created us. He can do more within us and through us than we have ever dreamed or imagined.

Selie Visa