Sermon Philippians 2:3-4 “Humility”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Philippians 2:3-4 “Humility”
May 12, 2019

Listen to this sermon.

This will be my final sermon in the series I started last fall based on the book, Believe, Living the Story of the Bible to Become Like Jesus, by Randy Frazee.  Last fall we began by looking at ten things Christians believe.   We talked about God, a Personal God, Salvation, the Bible, Identity in Christ, Church, Humanity, Compassion, Stewardship and Eternity.   Then, last winter we talked about spiritual practices, Worship, Prayer, Bible Study, Single-Mindedness, Total Surrender, Biblical Community, Spiritual Gifts, Offering My Time, Giving My Resources and Sharing My Faith.   Last Advent and this spring we have talked about Christian virtues, Love, Joy, Peace, Self-Control, Hope, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Gentleness.   As a result of what we believe and what we do we become virtuous like Jesus.  Today we turn to the final virtue, Humility.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Let’s hear some biblical wisdom:

Psalm 18:27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
Psalm 25:9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
Psalm 147:6 The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.
Proverbs 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.  19 Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.
Proverbs 18:12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 22:4 Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

There is no question about it.   It is wise to be humble.   Let’s look at humility.

Suppose you are part of a group.  You have high self-esteem.  You are strong, smart and educated.   You have been richly blessed.  You realize that you are stronger, smarter and better educated than anyone else in the group.   And you lord it over them.   You always tell them what to do.   You criticize them when are doing it wrong.   You are always on them to get better.   Is this humility?  No.  This is arrogance.   You think that your superior gifts entitle you to boss everyone around.   They won’t like it.  They think you are arrogant.   And arrogance is the opposite of biblical humility.  You don’t want to be seen as being arrogant.

Now suppose you are part of a group, but you have low self-esteem.   You do not consider yourself to be very strong or smart or educated.   You don’t think that God has blessed you very much.   And you get pushed around by others.  You are a wimp.   Is this biblical humility?  No.  This is humiliation.  You don’t want to be a wimp.

To be humble you must have high self-esteem.   You must think of yourself as strong, smart and educated.  But unlike the arrogant person, you do not compare yourself with other people.   You do not think of yourself as better than others.   Rather, you compare yourself with God.  And when you do this you find that God is much stronger than you.   God is much smarter than you.   God is more educated than you will ever be.   You are pretty good but God is a whole lot better than you.  And when you realize this you will be humbled.   This is the virtue of biblical humility.

Suppose you are part of a group.  You have high self-esteem.  You are strong, smart and educated.   You have been richly blessed.  You realize that you are stronger, smarter and better educated than any else in the group.   But you realize that you are nothing when compared to God.  What do you do?   Let’s turn to today’s scripture.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Again, suppose you are part of a group.  You have high self-esteem.  You are strong, smart and educated.   You have been richly blessed.  You realize that you are stronger, smarter and better educated than any else in the group.   But you realize that you are nothing when compared to God.  You have the virtue of biblical humility so you are concerned not with your own wants and desire but with the interest of the members of the group.  You lift the group up by helping them use their gifts.   You are not arrogant.  You are not a wimp.   You are humble. 

Jesus was certainly humble.   He came as our king but was born in a stable, wrapped with rags, and slept in a feeding trough.  Jesus ate his last supper with us, but instead of sitting in the place of honor he washed our feet.  Jesus came into Jerusalem as a messiah but instead of leading an army he went to a cross, for us.   That is biblical humility.

Philippians 2:5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  6 Who, being in very nature God,  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.  7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Jesus had high self-esteem.   He was strong, smart and educated.   But he wasn’t arrogant.   And he wasn’t a wimp.  He was humble and did everything to serve us. 

Let’s listen to Jesus’ own teaching on humility.

Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Let me tell you a story about a man who learned humility the hard way.   His name was Saul in Hebrew.   But you probably heard his Greek name, Paul.   Paul was a strong man, very smart and highly educated.   He had extremely high self-esteem.   And it came out as arrogance.   He heard about a Jewish sect in Jerusalem that was worshipping a man who claimed to be the Messiah.   And he decided that they had to be stopped. 

He was part of a mob that stoned a church deacon, Stephen, to death for his belief in Jesus Christ.    He persecuted Christians pulling them out of churches and throwing them in jail.  And when he had decimated the church in Jerusalem he received permission to carry his persecution of the church to Damascus.   On the way to Damascus Paul met Jesus and converted.  And as a Christian Paul, this stong, smart and educated man,  became humble.   Let’s listen to his own words.

2 Corinthians 12:7 … Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So through a physical difficulty, Paul started comparing himself, not to others, but to God.  And this strong, smart, educated man realized the when he compared himself with God he was truly weak.   This created in him the Christian virtue of humility.   And it changed his behavior toward others.

2 Corinthians 13:9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

So when we are humble we have high self-esteem and we use our gifts to build others up and not tear them down.   The Prophet Micah said that this was the essence of a faithful life.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Let’s pray.  Father in heaven, teach us to be humble.   Help us to be strong, smart and educated.   Give us high-self esteem.   But keep us aware that we are nothing compared to you.  And in our humility help us to lift up others.   Bless us we pray, in Jesus Christ.  Amen.