WEBVTT 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:13.320 Hello, and welcome to the Kalamazoo church of Christ podcast. 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:14.839 Thank you so much for listening. 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:16.199 We're startup church. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:23.460 We just planted in September, 2020 and at the Kalamazoo church, we believe that Christianity is done best when it is done together. 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:32.299 And so if you live in the Kalamazoo area, we would love to connect, be it coming to a Sunday service, one of our small groups, or even just grabbing coffee with a member to learn more. 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:36.439 You can visit kalamazoo.church in order to do that. 00:00:37.020 --> 00:00:40.380 We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today. 00:00:42.329 --> 00:00:43.109 All right. 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:44.170 Good to see everybody. 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:47.829 That was a lot of bumping on that last song. 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:54.799 Jordan, uh, that, uh, that's a silly song. 00:00:57.320 --> 00:00:57.840 Anyway. 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:09.299 Uh, my wife, Lori normally comes, she's in the state of Maine visiting her sister, uh, eating lobster and seafood and all that kind of stuff out there. 00:01:10.060 --> 00:01:12.060 Uh, she's, uh, ready to get back. 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:14.000 Her sister likes to talk a lot. 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:17.859 So, uh, I talked to her on the way down this morning. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.400 She said, she's really looking forward to coming home. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:23.340 It's had a great trip. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:32.260 So, uh, we live in case you don't know, if you go straight up one third of the way, you get off at 10 mile road. 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:34.640 Uh, we're not far from right there. 00:01:34.819 --> 00:01:37.099 So, uh, it was a beautiful drive down today. 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:41.719 We normally see, uh, Oath and Cynthia from the Grand Rapids church. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:46.739 They, uh, they live right around the corner nowadays and, uh, are down here. 00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:48.879 So it's a special treat to see them. 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:54.019 But, uh, I wanted to talk about this topic, humility today. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:59.159 If I were to start out and say, this is going to be the most awesome thing I've ever done, this is going to be the most awesome sermon you've ever heard. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:07.259 Uh, in fact, there's nobody in Kalamazoo, probably not even in Michigan that can do this as well as I'm going to do it. 00:02:07.539 --> 00:02:09.580 It's going to change your life forever. 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:11.099 You'll never be the same. 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:16.120 Listening to me speak for the next few minutes. 00:02:16.580 --> 00:02:23.240 Uh, I don't believe that. 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:25.539 And, uh, it's definitely not true. 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:38.060 On the other hand, if I were to say this might be the lamest sermon you've ever heard, I'll probably drool and spit and my nose will run and, uh, I'll misquote scriptures. 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:39.539 Well, that didn't very well. 00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:49.479 And, uh, you know, I just, I just give me a little bit of attention so I don't feel totally insecure, stuff like that. 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:51.780 That would be called false humility. 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:53.580 I don't believe that. 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:57.479 I don't think that will happen, but maybe God will humble me right now. 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:02.319 But this topic of humility, I think is an important one. 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:07.460 Jesus epitomizes a couple of things in contrast. 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:10.400 On one hand, he is our Lord. 00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:11.520 He's the savior. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:14.120 He is the son of God. 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:15.780 He is God in the flesh. 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:17.259 He is the word. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:22.979 And the list goes on and on of all the adjectives that describe who Jesus is. 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:29.199 And so of all people, all people should be focused on him and literally bow down to him. 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:36.159 But on the other hand, we see in Jesus this level of humility that's really pretty amazing. 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:39.599 And so I want to talk about some of those things today. 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.099 This next slide here. 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:47.460 Humility is simply an honest view of yourself. 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:51.039 You see yourself as you really are. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:56.879 A lot of times before we're Christians, this is really kind of hard to do. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.979 We don't always see ourselves as we really are. 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:11.419 But as we get in touch with the Bible, as we deepen our relationship with God, have a deeper understanding of who Jesus is, we start to see ourselves. 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:15.319 We see good things that God is pleased with. 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:20.959 But then there are times when we see things in our lives that are not pleasing to God. 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:23.300 But that's the awesome thing about God. 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:31.040 When he reveals those things to us, then we have an opportunity to change and pattern our life after him. 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:36.879 In the dictionary definition, they use it in this sentence. 00:04:37.379 --> 00:04:42.480 He needs humility to accept another way may be best. 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:47.259 This is part of what's plaguing our society right now. 00:04:47.600 --> 00:05:04.459 Everybody is so steeped in their personal opinions and ideologies and beliefs that they can't even begin to fathom that maybe another perspective is as accurate or even more accurate than their own. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:18.720 And so we see on social media, in the news, all this agitation and hostility and people digging their foot in and entrenched in their own beliefs. 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:24.579 They're not even open to considering that some other way may be better. 00:05:25.220 --> 00:05:31.899 And since we're part of the world, we're tempted to go along with those things. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:40.540 On the other hand, the call here is for us to consider that maybe another way is better. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.040 Turn to Matthew chapter 11 a minute. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:44.660 All right. 00:05:56.540 --> 00:06:00.040 Verse 25 is that time? 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:09.579 Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.279 Yes, father, for this was your good pleasure. 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:16.180 All things have been committed to be my by my father. 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:18.939 No one knows the son except the father. 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:26.379 And no one knows the father except the son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal. 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:32.420 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:41.560 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:45.639 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:57.060 This is the whole premise of becoming a Christian is to realize that there is a better way to live than most of us have ever realized. 00:06:57.220 --> 00:07:01.519 That's why we decided to make Jesus the Lord of our lives. 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:12.040 It doesn't mean you are a loser or a failure in life, but there's something more important than just being successful in the eyes of the world. 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:16.339 There's something about what's deep inside of our heart. 00:07:16.579 --> 00:07:27.660 There is a void that God places in every one of us that can only be filled by him, his Holy Spirit and the knowledge of the son of Christ. 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:30.279 And it takes some time. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:37.459 Perhaps we have to wrestle with these thoughts for a while, but eventually we start to see, you know what? 00:07:37.459 --> 00:07:41.339 I've been living this way and this is where it's gotten me. 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:56.079 And now I'm ready to try a different way to have the humility to say to ourselves and admit to ourselves, Jesus has a better way for me to live and conduct myself in this world. 00:07:56.199 --> 00:08:01.360 So all of us that are Christians, we made that decision at some point. 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:05.160 And maybe some of you are right in this wrestling stage. 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:07.220 It's okay to wrestle with this. 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:09.620 I did for a while. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:15.300 My wife and I, we grew up a little bit religious, just enough to be dangerous. 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:21.160 Enough to think we knew what we were doing, but we had no clue. 00:08:22.100 --> 00:08:28.560 And so when the truth was presented to us, we wrestled with it. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:36.759 Because now we started to study some things that were accepted by my wife and myself. 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:41.200 Like we learned these things growing up and we had no problems with that. 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:57.039 But then when the Bible started to expose what's really going on in our hearts, in our minds, and kind of reveal the path that we were on compared to the path that God wanted us to be on, we had to wrestle with that. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:05.399 But eventually, everybody that becomes a Christian gets to a point where they realize Jesus has a better way. 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:12.539 And that first act of humility changes the entire course of our lives. 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:12.919 Amen. 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:24.179 So we see this in Jesus, and we won't turn to all these passages, but we're well familiar with the story about Jesus's birth. 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:27.379 We celebrated it at Christmastime. 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:37.279 I think it's pretty unlikely that Jesus was born on December 25th, but that perhaps is a class for another time. 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:37.799 Right, right. 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:39.440 Wow. 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:43.960 But, you know, the virgin birth. 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:45.299 And think about this. 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:47.440 The Son of God. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.940 He was in heaven with the Lord himself. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:54.899 When the earth was created. 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:06.200 And now he's sent to earth as an unborn child inside of the womb of a virgin. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.019 And then he goes through childbirth. 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:13.100 He has to be nursed. 00:10:13.580 --> 00:10:15.840 Someone has to change his diapers. 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:18.740 Somebody has to wipe his nose. 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:28.419 Somebody has to feed him and care for him until he gets to a point where he can, like all children, start to take care of themselves a little bit. 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:44.940 But think of the humility that that took to leave his place in heaven and come down and experience humanity from the very beginning, the same way all of us entered into this world. 00:10:44.940 --> 00:10:48.340 It's amazing humility of Jesus. 00:10:48.659 --> 00:10:48.879 Yeah. 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:53.419 We see it in his life, as he lived his life. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:57.360 In this passage in Matthew 20, 25 through 28. 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:05.080 Earlier in the passage, there's this argument about who's the greatest. 00:11:06.419 --> 00:11:12.460 And the mother kind of instigated this among a couple of her sons. 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:18.639 And then all of a sudden, the other disciples hear about what's going on. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:20.299 They became indignant. 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:31.639 And now all of a sudden, these 12 guys that Jesus had been with for three years start arguing about who's number one. 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:36.000 There's opinions for it, but not in line. 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:40.379 They're just squabbling. 00:11:41.139 --> 00:11:48.259 And I can only imagine Jesus watching this unfold and going, man, are you guys so dull? 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:54.039 Have you learned nothing from me this time that you've been with me? 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:58.480 Have you ever seen me do the things that you're doing right now? 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:05.679 And I feel a sense of humility starting to set in. 00:12:06.100 --> 00:12:19.659 But then in the latter part of this verse, Jesus says, you know, whoever wants to be first must be your servant and slave of all. 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:26.480 So Jesus kind of flips this whole idea about position. 00:12:27.019 --> 00:12:28.559 It's not about authority. 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:30.299 It's not about your title. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:34.740 It's not about the clothes you wear or the cars you drive. 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.159 They didn't have problems with that back in those days. 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:40.759 Maybe what kind of cattle you have or something. 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:45.679 It doesn't have anything to do with any of that stuff. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:52.039 It's really about our humility to be a servant of all. 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:54.299 And isn't that what Jesus did? 00:12:54.500 --> 00:13:07.740 From the washing of the feet to talking with people that were basically discarded by society, lepers, people that had illnesses. 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:15.259 Even women were considered second class back in that time of life. 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:25.460 And yet here Jesus is getting his hands dirty, getting engaged with people that needed his help and needed somebody's help. 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:34.500 And maybe for the first time, they felt some love and connection from Jesus that they had never even felt perhaps from their own family. 00:13:35.539 --> 00:13:42.759 And so Jesus in his life demonstrated this humility that it's not about me. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.259 It's actually about all of you. 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:47.100 That's how he lived. 00:13:47.580 --> 00:13:54.860 And then, of course, we know about his death that we celebrate every week, his death, burial, and resurrection in the community. 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:03.899 He had the ability to put the whole crucifixion to a halt. 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:05.519 I don't know if you knew that or not. 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:10.779 He voluntarily laid his life down. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:19.340 Even just before he was arrested, he wrestled with God in the garden. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:21.820 Take this cup from me. 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:26.480 But then he said, not my will be done, but your will be done. 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:30.259 Tremendous act of humility and submission to God himself. 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:36.100 And then as he was being arrested, the disciples tried to protect him. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:48.799 One of them, Peter, will find out, actually pulled out a sword that he had hidden in his tunic, evidently, and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers that was trying to arrest Jesus. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.080 And then at that moment, Jesus said, stop. 00:14:52.899 --> 00:15:08.220 Don't you know that I could, right now, I have at my disposal more than 12 legions of angels that I could call down and intervene on my behalf right at this moment. 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:14.340 But in his humility, he didn't use the power that was at his disposal. 00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:18.779 Instead, he surrendered to the will of God. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:33.179 I think there's a lot of lessons in there for all of us, because to one degree or another, we can find ourselves in all of these stories about how Jesus demonstrated humility in his life. 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:39.190 Peter, there we go. 00:15:41.169 --> 00:15:43.970 Peter's had this journey with humility. 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:49.730 He started out like all of us, and he agreed to follow Jesus. 00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:52.649 He admitted that Jesus's way was better. 00:15:53.330 --> 00:16:00.850 He didn't always know what that meant, but he was willing to find out and go along with the program. 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:01.690 You know what I'm saying? 00:16:02.809 --> 00:16:14.330 How many of you, and maybe you're at this point right now, just before you're becoming a Christian, you know you need to be baptized for your sins to be forgiven. 00:16:15.129 --> 00:16:16.210 You're right there. 00:16:16.370 --> 00:16:21.549 You're close, but then you're wondering, man, should I do this or should I not do this? 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:24.149 How many of you ever wrestled with that conceit? 00:16:25.529 --> 00:16:25.830 All right. 00:16:26.009 --> 00:16:28.690 The rest of you that aren't, I'm going to go ahead and raise your hand now. 00:16:31.669 --> 00:16:32.909 We all wrestle with it. 00:16:33.169 --> 00:16:36.309 I was so nervous I let my wife get baptized before me. 00:16:37.570 --> 00:16:38.769 Within minutes. 00:16:38.970 --> 00:16:40.669 It was the same day. 00:16:42.389 --> 00:16:47.409 Yeah, and part of the problem is we have no track record. 00:16:47.970 --> 00:16:53.429 There's nothing in our past that tells us we're going to be faithful for the rest of our lives. 00:16:54.590 --> 00:17:16.068 And so we're kind of stepping on to this moving walkway, and we don't know all the places that it's going to stop, and we don't know how long we're going to be on it, but we've got the faith and we've got the humility to at least get started and believe that God will see us through. 00:17:17.509 --> 00:17:24.108 For Lori and me, that was 1982 in Tampa, Florida. 00:17:24.470 --> 00:17:25.750 That's a good long time. 00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:29.589 Some of you just got baptized this last year. 00:17:29.829 --> 00:17:30.849 Amen for that. 00:17:31.849 --> 00:17:34.529 You're going to be on the walkway a long time. 00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:38.509 And we all have to stay on it to the very end. 00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:42.230 You can't do it without this quality of humility. 00:17:44.589 --> 00:17:54.029 Then we see in Peter's life, even though he started out with humility, he also struggled with humility. 00:17:54.450 --> 00:18:12.170 The passage that I referred to earlier when he reached out and tried to intervene in Jesus's arrest, when Jesus was going to wash all the disciples' feet, he said, no, you'll never wash my feet. 00:18:12.849 --> 00:18:19.869 And then Jesus persuaded him, yes, I am going to do this, and you probably ought to get along with the program here. 00:18:20.269 --> 00:18:23.170 And then he says, okay, not just my feet, but everything. 00:18:23.630 --> 00:18:25.609 Wash me from top to bottom. 00:18:26.450 --> 00:18:32.289 I'm sure Jesus didn't want to go quite that far, but nonetheless he did. 00:18:32.289 --> 00:18:57.960 And then perhaps Peter's greatest failure, after being loyal to him for three years, just before he was taken to be crucified, he denied three times that he did. 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:11.799 And Jared and I feel like I've done some things to help Jared, and he's not doing anything like that. 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:12.660 Not yet, not yet. 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:18.019 Jared's done a lot for me. 00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:21.359 I'm your generation a little bit. 00:19:24.009 --> 00:19:34.769 But, you know, if that were me, and then I saw Jared deny that he even knew, could you imagine how devastating that would be? 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:48.980 That's small compared to what Jesus must have felt when he saw Peter turn his back on him and even deny, call down curses upon himself. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.400 I don't know him. 00:19:53.730 --> 00:20:05.569 So Peter, though he started out with humility and had some humility throughout his experience with Jesus, he struggled with humility throughout his life. 00:20:05.769 --> 00:20:08.690 I think that's pretty true for all of us, isn't it? 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:21.490 There's probably not many weeks that go by where our humility is just not at the level or maybe even non-existent. 00:20:21.490 --> 00:20:28.329 It shows up most often in our interaction with other people, which we'll talk about in just a minute. 00:20:28.789 --> 00:20:32.349 But humility is how we get started. 00:20:33.210 --> 00:20:35.210 Humility is how we stay faithful. 00:20:35.809 --> 00:20:40.529 And humility is what brings success to the life of a Christian. 00:20:40.809 --> 00:20:41.089 Amen? 00:20:41.490 --> 00:20:41.730 Amen. 00:20:42.450 --> 00:20:49.990 So, and then he gained humility as an older man. 00:20:50.109 --> 00:20:51.829 Go ahead and turn to 1 Peter 5. 00:20:51.829 --> 00:20:56.269 We'll spend the rest of our time here, if that's okay. 00:20:57.230 --> 00:21:00.849 And if it's not, then you should have listened to the first part of the lesson. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:16.900 Start in verse 5. 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:19.380 All right, we'll start in verse 4. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:26.400 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:30.720 Young man, in the same way, be submissive to those who are older. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:41.039 All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:49.220 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:55.220 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 00:21:57.049 --> 00:22:02.319 This is now Peter, about 30 years after he followed Jesus. 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:09.119 So, when he started to follow Jesus, he was probably in his late 20s, early 30s. 00:22:09.619 --> 00:22:16.940 Now, when he wrote 1 Peter, he's an older man, about 30 years later, so he's in his 60s. 00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:40.380 And so, these words are coming from not a young disciple, but an older seasoned disciple, who had the opportunity to struggle with humility and to embed some lessons about humility deep into his heart, and ultimately to pass them on to the people that he's communicating to. 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:57.819 He says, be submissive to those who are older, but then all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, and gives grace to the humble. 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:04.099 This is an unchangeable law of spirituality. 00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:10.759 God does oppose pride, and he does honor humility. 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:14.380 And a lot of times, we get these roles reversed. 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:23.079 We think that the way up is by the elevate ourselves, when in reality, that's the way to be humbled by God. 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:36.480 Instead, if we voluntarily humble ourselves before the Lord himself, and one another, then God, in a miraculous way, lifts us up. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:43.339 This has played out every relationship that you've ever had or ever will have. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:45.940 Many of you in this room are married. 00:23:46.420 --> 00:23:54.759 This is the perfect breeding ground for this lab experiment about pride versus humility. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:01.460 I would guess from time to time, you get into squabbles with one another. 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.640 Is that true? 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:03.099 Yeah. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:11.440 Nobody's making eye contact with me right now. 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:15.839 Yeah, Lori and I still do. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.839 We've been married going on 44 years. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.759 We still lock horns every now and then. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:27.680 Not physically, but we have disagreements and squabbles. 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:32.680 Really, when it gets down to the bottom of it, a lot of it is misunderstandings. 00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:37.400 Like, she thought I meant one thing, but I didn't mean that. 00:24:37.779 --> 00:24:41.940 But the way that I said it, I can see why she took it that way. 00:24:42.440 --> 00:24:48.839 And so there's humility on both parts that have to be acquired to get over this stuff. 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:52.680 And then other times, it's just being inconsiderate. 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:57.720 And putting yourself above the other person. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:05.980 And it's the perfect example of this constant battle between humility and pride. 00:25:06.539 --> 00:25:06.700 Yeah. 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:10.099 It shows up in your children. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:14.720 I think children—and Lori and I are going to be down here next Saturday. 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:19.400 We'll do a parenting workshop for all of you. 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:21.640 Man, you've got a lot of kids in this church, huh? 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:23.619 It's awesome. 00:25:24.740 --> 00:25:27.140 But it's also frustrating, huh? 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:32.180 It's like, what were we thinking having so many? 00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:32.859 I don't know. 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:42.700 You know, I do believe—and we'll talk about this next week— I do believe children need to be loved, but they also need to be disciplined. 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:51.980 And they need to be taught how to be respectful to everybody, especially to mom and dad and then others. 00:25:52.680 --> 00:26:08.579 But sometimes, as children get older, we fail to remember that now they're at a different age, and they're becoming young adults, and the way that we parent has got to change. 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:13.960 Otherwise, it comes across to them that mom and dad are just being vital. 00:26:14.849 --> 00:26:23.779 It doesn't mean that they're not accountable for their behavior and things like that, but more on that through Saturday. 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:27.319 That was maybe to see if they didn't want to come. 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:35.519 People lose jobs because of pride. 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:42.700 People get promotions because of humility. 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:45.460 Sometimes it's always not fair. 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:56.359 Sometimes bosses are, you say, jerks from time to time, huh? 00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:57.680 I don't know if I can say that. 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:58.720 There's a lot of kids in there. 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:00.200 You're okay with that? 00:27:09.720 --> 00:27:19.299 But there is something elevating about living a life that has a good dose of humility in it. 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:35.380 None of us are going to be perfect all the time at this, but it really does show up in a major way in our interactions with other people, husbands and wives, parents and children, friends, even people within the church. 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:47.000 You guys are young enough and small enough where everybody knows everybody, and there's no hiding in the Kalamazoo Church right now. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:28:02.599 But there'll be a day when it's a bigger church, like the one that Deanna Bianca and Lori and I came from, Milwaukee, 250 members, where it's big enough that if you didn't like Blaine, let's say, I'm just, I made eye contact with him. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:07.880 Blaine is just a little abrasive for me. 00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:10.220 I'm not big in his hairstyle. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.819 He's got more hair than I do. 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:21.140 But Milwaukee's big enough that I could find a way to totally avoid him on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday midweek. 00:28:21.460 --> 00:28:26.119 And I just go over to that corner of the church and not have to interact at all. 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:30.700 But that doesn't do anything for my humility. 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:42.519 A lot of times we have these attitudes towards one another in the church, and they sit there, and we don't do anything about it. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:50.279 And then all of a sudden we're at a point one day where we just, we've got a major attitude towards this person or the other person. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:59.279 And it's all because we weren't humble enough to say, hey, look, I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I feel like you and I are off. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:10.099 There's been a guy visiting the Grand Rapids Church, and this goes all the way back to our New Year's Eve service. 00:29:10.200 --> 00:29:11.460 We had it in house churches. 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:15.859 And I did the little lesson for the house church that we were in. 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:17.160 This guy was visiting. 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:22.759 And all of a sudden at the end of the lesson, he jumps up and kind of takes over the sermon. 00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:26.140 And I thought it was a little weird. 00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:27.339 I didn't punch him, though. 00:29:30.059 --> 00:29:33.880 And he said, I just have to read this scripture. 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:37.140 And it was a scripture, so how can you argue with that? 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:41.799 And it seemed to be appropriate, went along with what I was talking about. 00:29:44.140 --> 00:29:47.059 But I wasn't real excited about it. 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:51.079 It was a little bit of an awkward setting, if you know what I mean. 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:55.980 And then as soon as he read the scripture, I said, okay, thanks. 00:29:55.980 --> 00:29:58.880 And then we went into communion after that. 00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:11.559 So three weeks ago, he comes up to me on a Sunday morning, and he said, I just want to confess the five that I have in my heart. 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:15.079 And I was like, what? 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:16.799 What is it? 00:30:17.660 --> 00:30:22.079 He said, you remember that service, New Year's Eve? 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:26.259 And he said, yeah. 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:29.319 And he said, you know, I just felt like you bullied me. 00:30:30.460 --> 00:30:32.559 And I know it's not right. 00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:33.799 I know it's my fault. 00:30:33.940 --> 00:30:35.000 It's not your fault. 00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:36.299 I know it's me. 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:38.759 And this guy is not even a Christian. 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:44.539 But he's starting to identify with this whole concept of humility. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:45.240 Wow. 00:30:45.619 --> 00:30:46.920 We had a great talk. 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:53.400 And we went out for tacos the next midweek. 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:57.579 And he's still studying the Bible, still coming to church. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:30:59.960 But I thought, what a great example. 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:08.240 Here's a guy that hasn't even really fully committed himself to be a disciple of Jesus, but he's learning about humility. 00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:13.839 And how that little episode affected his heart. 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:18.079 And it was something I didn't know anything about. 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:23.559 I'd seen him for several months, but never knew that he was feeling that. 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:26.960 But he had the humility to speak up and give it a go. 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:29.920 I think there's a powerful lesson in that. 00:31:30.019 --> 00:31:30.240 Yeah. 00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:32.900 That everybody can learn from that. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:35.000 Because you're all going to have to do that at some point. 00:31:35.099 --> 00:31:35.940 Yeah, I know that. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:36.240 Right? 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:36.720 Right. 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:38.119 Right, right. 00:31:39.029 --> 00:32:07.559 So, you know, if we consistently make decisions to live a humble life, to live a life that's not just sprinkled with humility, but saturated with humility, it's amazing how much you will see your character change and how your interaction with other people will change. 00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:11.460 So I want to leave you with this. 00:32:12.339 --> 00:32:17.720 A life lived without humility is actually lived in opposition to God. 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:21.119 You're fighting God. 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:23.000 You're opposing God. 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:26.700 God doesn't want to do this, but He will. 00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:30.859 He will humble you at some point in time or another. 00:32:30.859 --> 00:32:37.680 The harder you fight, the deeper the fall is going to be, if you know what I mean by that. 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:41.200 And so let's not do that to ourselves. 00:32:41.339 --> 00:32:41.539 Amen? 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:42.240 Amen. 00:32:42.579 --> 00:32:48.119 That's self-induced punishment and pain, living a life without humility. 00:32:48.779 --> 00:33:15.079 On the other hand, if we choose to live a humble life, imperfect as it always will be, but if that is our focus in life, I've got to crucify this pride that always wants to take over, and I'm going to choose to live a humble life, then I live in concert with God, and we're all on the same page working toward the same goal. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:44.539 So I want to leave you with that, and I think as we prepare our minds for communion right now, there's no better lesson to go into this time other than humility, because we're remembering the sacrifice of one man for our salvation, and not just salvation, but also to have a life that's meaningful and productive, that's lived in service to others. 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:51.059 And so we're remembering and reminding ourselves, I want to be just like Jesus. 00:33:52.059 --> 00:34:26.980 I eat this cracker because it represents his body, but not just his flesh, it's the way he lived his life, what he did with his body throughout his life, and then I drink this cup, this juice, and it reminds me, reminds all of us, that it was with great cost that Jesus paid the price for our forgiveness, and how could we not humble ourselves before a person like that? 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:27.340 Amen? 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:29.820 Let me... 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:30.800 Brother, what's your name? 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:32.659 Yeah. 00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:34.099 What is it? 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:34.860 Yeah. 00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:37.300 You're going to pray for communion right now, okay? 00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:39.719 Sorry to put you on the spot. 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:39.980 Amen.