Point of Grace Worship 3.1.26 Sermon Notes – Lent 2 - “Pursuing Humility”
“Pursuing Humility”
A Lenten Journey
What is “biblical” humility?
Humility is the radical reliance on God as the animating center of our being and living.
Humility denies “self” that place of power and yields to God as the rightful holder of that position.
Humility is a posture of the heart that does not come naturally but is to be pursued.
We can be assured God is at work forming humility in us.
The question becomes am I yielding or resisting His transformational work in my life.
How do I join Him in my transformation by “Pursuing Humility”?
1 Peter 5:5-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
“I am sure there are many Christians who will confess that their experience has been very much like my own. I had long known the Lord without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart are to be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, just as they were of the Master, and further, that this humility is not something that will come of itself. But that it must be made the object of special desire, prayer, faith and practice. As we study the Word, we will see what very distinct and oft-repeated instructions Jesus gave his disciples on this point and how slow they were to understand them.”
Andrew Murray – Humility -The Journey Toward Holiness
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
“By saying, “take my yoke, learn from me”, He is saying for them to “adopt and learn My ways of living and carrying the loads of life … I am gentle and humble in heart … you will find rest for your souls”
Jesus’s humility – “His radical reliance on His Father” as the animating, emanating center of His being” – was key to His “yoke” to be learned by His disciples.
Three Helpful Postures and Prayers in Pursuing Humility
Confrontation – Confession – Lament
Confrontation - “Jesus, I invite You to confront pockets of pride in me.”
Inviting Jesus to confront our pockets of pride and self-reliance so we might yield to Him is unnatural but so necessary in our pursuit of humility.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Confession – “Jesus, I confess my sin and brokenness ……………, forgive and cleanse me with your blood.”
Confessing sin, brokenness and sin’s toll in our lives, opens us up to His forgiveness, restoration and healing,
1 John 1:7-9
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 51
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Lament – “Jesus, I am hurting, confused, frustrated…… are You even there? …. Help me hold on to You!”
In suffering and pain we are prone to “take over” (pride) and give up on God … even blame Him. Learning to lament in His Presence while living through suffering, grief, loss and despair opens us up to help and hope from Him. He can handle my complaint!
Psalm 13
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Confrontation - “Jesus, I invite You to confront pockets of pride in me.”
Confession – “Jesus, I confess my sin and brokenness ……………, forgive and cleanse me with your blood.”
Lament – “Jesus, I am hurting, confused, frustrated…… are You even there? …. Help me hold on to You!”