1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,780 Please keep your Bible open at 1 Peter chapter 5. We’re going to focus inespecially on verses 2 00:00:04,780 –> 00:00:10,780 5 through 7 and pick up on the first four verses, God willing, next week, as we come 3 00:00:10,780 –> 00:00:18,680 to the last in our series. One of these momentary, horrible experiences 4 00:00:18,680 –> 00:00:25,920 —in the van this week driving in the city, and we stopped at the lights and just looking 5 00:00:26,080 –> 00:00:30,980 to the side while we were waiting for them to change, and suddenly had this sensation 6 00:00:30,980 –> 00:00:35,040 that I was moving forward. And, of course, slammed my foot on the brake, and still felt 7 00:00:35,040 –> 00:00:39,200 that I was moving forward. And slammed a lot harder, suddenly feeling I’m going to go 8 00:00:39,200 –> 00:00:42,200 out into the middle of this junction. And then, of course, suddenly realized—you know 9 00:00:42,200 –> 00:00:46,560 that awful feeling it’s the person next to you who’s moving backwards and trying to 10 00:00:46,560 –> 00:00:53,279 get into a parking place, saying, oh, I thought my life was nearly over. 11 00:00:53,360 –> 00:00:59,599 And it’s a strange experience. You think you’re moving forward, but actually you’re only standing 12 00:00:59,599 –> 00:01:05,059 still. Now, I think that’s one of the great dangers of our Christian lives, that we can 13 00:01:05,059 –> 00:01:13,419 think that we are moving forwards, when actually we are really only standing still. And that 14 00:01:13,419 –> 00:01:19,360 goes to the nub of the issue that we’re going to focus on today. Because it is possible 15 00:01:19,500 –> 00:01:25,099 for us to be very active in serving Jesus Christ, throwing enormous energy into serving 16 00:01:25,099 –> 00:01:32,360 him, and all that we’re seeking to do for him, and yet to lose our effectiveness on 17 00:01:32,360 –> 00:01:42,860 the single issue that we became proud. Look at verse 5, as we try and orient ourselves 18 00:01:42,860 –> 00:01:48,339 to this issue that is a challenge for every Christian at every stage of life. Peter has 19 00:01:48,339 –> 00:01:54,900 been talking to elders, in the first four verses, mature believers, leaders in the church. 20 00:01:54,900 –> 00:02:01,760 Then at the beginning of verse 5, he speaks to young men. And then he says in verse 5, 21 00:02:01,760 –> 00:02:08,220 all of you. So he’s making very clear that he now wants to address a fundamental issue 22 00:02:08,800 –> 00:02:15,800 Christians at every stage of life and every stage of spiritual development. There is never 23 00:02:18,960 –> 00:02:25,960 a point in your life where it is easy or natural to be humble. It’s not easy to be humble 24 00:02:26,119 –> 00:02:30,440 when you’re in fifth grade. You think you’re the center of the whole world. Or when you’re 25 00:02:30,440 –> 00:02:34,119 in eighth grade or ninth grade and you suddenly start looking in the mirror. It’s not easy 26 00:02:34,399 –> 00:02:39,899 to be humble when your career is taking off. It’s not easy to be humble when you’re 27 00:02:39,899 –> 00:02:46,899 retired. It does not come naturally to any of us. Someone has described humility, pride 28 00:02:47,679 –> 00:02:54,679 rather, as being like flour in a mill. It gets everywhere, and it is produced every 29 00:02:56,039 –> 00:03:02,080 time the mill is working. You’re always trying to keep it down, but you never fully 30 00:03:02,080 –> 00:03:08,479 manage to clear it up. Pride is like that, and nobody is free from the struggle against 31 00:03:08,479 –> 00:03:15,479 pride that has an insidious way of growing up like a weed in our souls. 32 00:03:16,000 –> 00:03:20,899 Spurgeon, a great preacher from a century ago, tells a wonderful story about a lady 33 00:03:20,899 –> 00:03:26,779 who came up to him after a service. He’s a preacher in this great church in London, 34 00:03:27,039 –> 00:03:31,919 and she said to him, Mr. Spurgeon, I want you to know that I pray every day that God 35 00:03:31,919 –> 00:03:38,259 will keep you humble. Spurgeon thanked her and then he asked her if she was praying the 36 00:03:38,259 –> 00:03:44,419 same thing for herself. Oh no, she said. There’s no need for me to pray that prayer, I do not 37 00:03:44,419 –> 00:03:49,839 think there is any tendency in me to be proud. Well, you see, there’s the subtlety of 38 00:03:49,839 –> 00:03:55,800 pride, right there. We are never in so much danger of being proud as when we think we 39 00:03:55,800 –> 00:04:02,960 are humble. C.S. Lewis in his masterful book Screwtape Letters sets out Satan’s strategies 40 00:04:02,960 –> 00:04:09,919 for tempting a Christian and he makes this point there, if the Christian becomes humble, 41 00:04:09,919 –> 00:04:18,299 tempt him by drawing attention to the fact, he will soon become proud of his humility. 42 00:04:18,299 –> 00:04:24,640 And this is such a subtle thing. I was asked earlier in this year by a denomination to 43 00:04:24,640 –> 00:04:30,799 speak at the national conference on the subject of giving up your ego. And I received the 44 00:04:30,799 –> 00:04:34,119 invitation, was grateful for it, thought it was very nice that they asked me, they must 45 00:04:34,119 –> 00:04:44,019 think I’m humble, and I lost it right there. Lost it. Pride is like a cataract that grows 46 00:04:44,019 –> 00:04:50,279 over the eye, so that we can no longer see ourselves clearly. So often we end up in the 47 00:04:50,279 –> 00:05:00,019 position of being absolutely sure we’re in the right, and yet pride has blinded us to 48 00:05:00,019 –> 00:05:09,640 the areas in which we’re actually in the wrong. Great Christians have sought to ponder what 49 00:05:09,640 –> 00:05:16,359 it means to really live a humble life in this world. And one of the greatest of these was 50 00:05:16,480 –> 00:05:21,559 a man by the name of Bernard of clairvaux. Isn’t that a delightful name by the way? I 51 00:05:21,559 –> 00:05:25,700 would have liked to have been called Bernard of clairvaux. I don’t suppose it would help 52 00:05:25,700 –> 00:05:32,440 your humility, mind you. He lived in the 12th century, and was a monk. He was asked by a 53 00:05:32,440 –> 00:05:37,040 friend to write a book on humility. He said he didn’t really know enough about humility 54 00:05:37,040 –> 00:05:43,720 to write about it, but he could write about the way in which we fall into the sin of pride. 55 00:05:43,760 –> 00:05:48,179 And he made this observation that I think is rather helpful. He said, you take the same 56 00:05:48,179 –> 00:05:56,239 road to come out of a town as you use to go into it. So if you can understand the road 57 00:05:56,239 –> 00:06:02,140 that leads to pride, then by walking that same road in the reverse direction, you will 58 00:06:02,140 –> 00:06:08,679 find the path to humility. And then changing the analogy, he set out a ladder. He said 59 00:06:08,679 –> 00:06:13,459 rather, like a ladder with different rungs on it, if you go up the ladder in one direction 60 00:06:13,459 –> 00:06:18,140 it will take you to pride, if you go on these same rungs in the other direction it will 61 00:06:18,140 –> 00:06:23,279 take you to humility. And he wrote a book that’s still available today and I think 62 00:06:23,279 –> 00:06:31,760 well worthy of reading entitled 12 Steps of Humility and Pride. And of these 12, I’d 63 00:06:31,760 –> 00:06:37,820 like to just mentioned three. I found them very, very searching in my own soul, because 64 00:06:37,940 –> 00:06:45,320 he is so very practical in just bringing out some of the subtle ways in which pride manifests 65 00:06:45,320 –> 00:06:55,059 itself in our lives. Here’s three. The first of them, curiosity or inquisitiveness. He 66 00:06:55,059 –> 00:06:59,799 talks about the inquisitive person, that is the person who is always looking at other 67 00:06:59,799 –> 00:07:06,140 people are doing or achieving and thereby putting themselves in a place in which you 68 00:07:06,260 –> 00:07:08,799 are able to say, you know, others are doing better than me, others are not doing quite 69 00:07:08,799 –> 00:07:15,000 as well as me. He will look up to some as his betters, Bernard 70 00:07:15,000 –> 00:07:21,799 says, and will look down on others as his inferiors. And as soon as he begins to do 71 00:07:21,799 –> 00:07:29,679 that, he will be envious of some and scornful of others. Both of these, he says, are examples 72 00:07:29,880 –> 00:07:34,000 of pride. Because it is the love of one’s own excellence 73 00:07:34,000 –> 00:07:41,000 that brings distress when others surpass you and brings joy when you surpass others. 74 00:07:41,540 –> 00:07:45,959 And we find this in our experience from the earliest days onwards. You know, you’re 75 00:07:45,959 –> 00:07:51,579 a junior in high school, what do you do? Look up to the seniors, respect the seniors. 76 00:07:51,579 –> 00:07:56,679 Freshmen? Don’t ever be caught hanging out with a freshman if you’re a junior. 77 00:07:56,679 –> 00:07:59,820 You roll it on into business, it begins to manifest itself. 78 00:07:59,820 –> 00:08:02,559 And what’s he making? What do you make? Oh, yeah, that’s what you 79 00:08:02,559 –> 00:08:07,279 make, good for you. I make a little more. 80 00:08:07,279 –> 00:08:12,459 In pastors, it gets perverted into the usual table conversation, how many are you running 81 00:08:12,459 –> 00:08:18,859 on a Sunday morning? Well you see people, we measure ourselves 82 00:08:18,859 –> 00:08:23,299 against where others are in terms of their achievement in one way or another. 83 00:08:23,299 –> 00:08:29,820 And Bernard is saying, as soon as you begin comparing yourself in that kind of way, pride 84 00:08:29,820 –> 00:08:34,520 is at the root of it. It’s one of the expressions of pride. 85 00:08:34,520 –> 00:08:41,140 When Jesus spoke to Peter, after the resurrection, and spoke about his future, Peter’s immediate 86 00:08:41,140 –> 00:08:46,000 reaction was to say, now, what’s going to happen to John? 87 00:08:46,000 –> 00:08:51,099 And Jesus said to him, what is that to you? In other words, mind your own business. 88 00:08:51,840 –> 00:08:56,059 That’s a very, very important principle, because as soon as I begin measuring 89 00:08:56,059 –> 00:09:01,799 myself against others, however I do that, oh, I’m not doing as well as him. 90 00:09:01,799 –> 00:09:07,820 Oh, I’m doing better than her. The root of that is pride. 91 00:09:08,739 –> 00:09:13,619 Secondly, he points out levity. Again, I found this very searchling. 92 00:09:13,619 –> 00:09:20,479 The proud person, he says, is never sorrowful. Think about that. 93 00:09:20,479 –> 00:09:27,400 His silly levity torturely controls him. You rarely see this person sigh or cry. 94 00:09:27,400 –> 00:09:33,179 He acts like a buffoon, looks like a court jester, and swaggers around over-concerned 95 00:09:33,179 –> 00:09:35,619 with his appearance. And this was a monk writing 96 00:09:35,619 –> 00:09:38,020 in the twelfth century. Well, isn’t that extraordinary? 97 00:09:38,020 –> 00:09:42,340 But it speaks to us today. Now, you see, nobody is suggesting that 98 00:09:43,099 –> 00:09:49,539 you have to be going round in a kind of somberness all of your life in introspection and repentance 99 00:09:49,539 –> 00:09:55,739 of your sins and so forth, as if that were the only aspect of being a Christian. 100 00:09:55,739 –> 00:10:02,539 But what he’s saying, and it’s profoundly true is, if there are never times when a person 101 00:10:02,539 –> 00:10:11,539 looks at their own self seriously, then the only explanation of that is pride. 102 00:10:11,640 –> 00:10:18,739 This skimming through life that finds no need nor place to examine my own soul. 103 00:10:18,739 –> 00:10:28,799 Thirdly, presumption, and here he’s describing the person who pushes himself forward. 104 00:10:28,799 –> 00:10:34,640 Beautifully written. Let me read these words to you. I’ve found them very convicting. 105 00:10:34,640 –> 00:10:41,400 This person airs his own ideas in a loud and lofty tone. He interrupts his questioner and 106 00:10:41,419 –> 00:10:48,260 gives answers before he is asked. He asks questions himself, but then goes on to supply 107 00:10:48,260 –> 00:10:56,340 his own answers. He cuts in on the person talking without allowing him to finish speaking.” 108 00:10:56,340 –> 00:10:59,840 Well, you see what that is? That’s pride, isn’t it? What I’ve got to say is more important 109 00:10:59,840 –> 00:11:06,679 than what you’re trying to say to me. He gives masses of information, but all to no purpose. 110 00:11:06,679 –> 00:11:12,380 He reopens discussions of subjects that have already been settled, and he goes over work 111 00:11:12,380 –> 00:11:17,760 that has already been completed. He thinks that nothing is properly organised or correctly 112 00:11:17,760 –> 00:11:26,500 carried out unless he has organised or executed it himself. Anyone recognise themselves here? 113 00:11:26,500 –> 00:11:27,780 There’s pride. 114 00:11:27,780 –> 00:11:34,500 Now, humility is a unique challenge for two groups of people, and it will be good for 115 00:11:34,500 –> 00:11:40,500 us to take a moment to say where are we in relation to those two groups that find humility 116 00:11:40,500 –> 00:11:42,280 to be a unique challenge. 117 00:11:42,280 –> 00:11:46,880 First, it is a special challenge for those who have great success. If you’ve built 118 00:11:46,880 –> 00:11:52,299 a business, if you’ve worked your way up in a career ladder, it is hard to be humble. 119 00:11:52,299 –> 00:12:00,880 If you have earned degrees, if you have artistic gifts, if you are excellent in the area of 120 00:12:01,559 –> 00:12:08,559 sports, if you do anything that attracts the praise of other people, it is hard to be humble. 121 00:12:09,640 –> 00:12:15,159 If your children have been successful, if you have grown in your faith, it is hard to 122 00:12:15,159 –> 00:12:22,159 be humble. Humility is hard for successful people, and as I think of us as a church community, 123 00:12:22,659 –> 00:12:28,400 God has blessed with great success many, many among us. 124 00:12:29,000 –> 00:12:36,000 But secondly, humility is a unique challenge for people with high moral principles. In 125 00:12:36,539 –> 00:12:42,239 fact, we might say that pride is the besetting sin of people with high moral principles, 126 00:12:42,239 –> 00:12:49,239 and that means that it will be the besetting sin of evangelical Christians. You see, if 127 00:12:50,419 –> 00:12:57,419 we are to describe what we hold dearly, that certainly has to include high moral principles. 128 00:12:57,539 –> 00:13:01,719 Evangelical Christians hold these from the word of God. But what we’re saying this morning 129 00:13:01,719 –> 00:13:08,659 is that where people hold high moral principles, as we seek to do, it is very hard then to 130 00:13:08,659 –> 00:13:12,260 be humble. 131 00:13:12,260 –> 00:13:18,340 I was struck reading again an outstanding book on humility by a member of the British 132 00:13:18,340 –> 00:13:25,340 House of Lords, Lord Longford. He was a deeply moral man, very strong Christian principles, 133 00:13:26,179 –> 00:13:31,260 and late in his life, after his retirement, he wrote a book entitled Humility in which 134 00:13:31,260 –> 00:13:35,299 he tried to reflect on what it was to have a career in politics – and it was a very 135 00:13:35,299 –> 00:13:40,760 successful career, went to the very top ranks of government – and yet still to walk humbly 136 00:13:40,760 –> 00:13:42,559 with God. 137 00:13:42,559 –> 00:13:49,559 The most courageous moment in Lord Longford’s political career came in 1967, when a bill 138 00:13:50,559 –> 00:13:57,400 to legalise abortion was brought to the British Parliament. Lord Longford was the Leader of 139 00:13:57,400 –> 00:14:03,960 the House of Lords at the time and he stepped down from his position as Leader in the House 140 00:14:03,960 –> 00:14:10,280 of Lords, in order to speak from the backbenches, as a common member as it were, against the 141 00:14:10,280 –> 00:14:11,520 bill. 142 00:14:11,520 –> 00:14:17,799 It was an act of extraordinary courage, it was a moment of high political drama in British 143 00:14:17,799 –> 00:14:19,539 history. 144 00:14:19,539 –> 00:14:26,299 To many people, Longford was a hero, a man of integrity, one in a million, who was ready 145 00:14:26,299 –> 00:14:32,140 to stand for his principles, irrespective of the cost to his career, a man who put his 146 00:14:32,140 –> 00:14:37,780 moral conscience above party loyalty and was prepared to take a stand. 147 00:14:37,780 –> 00:14:40,179 And that was true. 148 00:14:40,179 –> 00:14:45,599 But here’s what he says writing about that event, several years later. 149 00:14:45,640 –> 00:14:52,359 The action, he says, I am proudest of during those years was leaving the leader’s seat 150 00:14:52,359 –> 00:14:59,900 in the House of Lords and speaking from the back bench against the abortion bill. 151 00:14:59,900 –> 00:15:05,299 It was an unprecedented step for anyone in my position. 152 00:15:05,299 –> 00:15:12,500 Here, if anywhere in my whole career, I like to think that there was courage. 153 00:15:12,739 –> 00:15:22,119 But if I can judge from my own internal condition at the time, there was precious little humility. 154 00:15:22,119 –> 00:15:29,000 Now, I find that a deeply searching confession, don’t you? 155 00:15:29,000 –> 00:15:36,599 Humility is hard for a person with high moral principles. 156 00:15:37,599 –> 00:15:43,619 See, this goes to the heart of the story Jesus told about two men who went to the temple 157 00:15:43,619 –> 00:15:44,619 to pray. 158 00:15:44,619 –> 00:15:53,260 One was a Pharisee, a man of the highest moral principles, but he did not have humility. 159 00:15:53,260 –> 00:15:54,780 The other was a publican. 160 00:15:54,780 –> 00:15:58,260 His life had been a moral mess. 161 00:15:58,260 –> 00:16:00,820 He saw his need of the mercy of God. 162 00:16:01,419 –> 00:16:04,020 God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” 163 00:16:04,020 –> 00:16:06,059 he said. 164 00:16:06,059 –> 00:16:12,599 And Jesus said that the man with the highest moral principles went home exactly as he came, 165 00:16:12,599 –> 00:16:20,580 but the other man who cried out to God for mercy went home justified. 166 00:16:20,580 –> 00:16:22,679 That’s what Jesus said. 167 00:16:23,260 –> 00:16:31,299 Now, if humility is difficult for people who have been given great success, 168 00:16:31,299 –> 00:16:36,840 and it is difficult especially for people who hold high moral principles, 169 00:16:36,840 –> 00:16:43,880 then I want to suggest that it is extremely difficult for a community of people like us. 170 00:16:43,880 –> 00:16:50,599 And it’s not surprising, therefore, that at the end of this letter, Peter writes to Christian believers, 171 00:16:50,659 –> 00:16:57,520 and he identifies this as a key issue, if we want to have influence in the world, 172 00:16:57,520 –> 00:17:03,719 if we want to grow in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 173 00:17:03,719 –> 00:17:15,640 And I believe that, as evangelical Christians, we need to listen to the criticisms of those who don’t like us. 174 00:17:15,640 –> 00:17:27,880 And one of the primary criticisms of those who don’t like us is that we are arrogant. 175 00:17:27,880 –> 00:17:31,959 And that’s a terrible accusation, 176 00:17:31,959 –> 00:17:40,760 because the very essence of the gospel is that you and I have come to the point of saying, 177 00:17:40,760 –> 00:17:43,719 I need the mercy of God. 178 00:17:47,000 –> 00:17:50,119 I came to Christ because I needed the mercy of God. 179 00:17:50,119 –> 00:17:54,119 I’m in Christ, and I still need the mercy of God, and I found it in Him. 180 00:17:57,560 –> 00:18:02,839 If the gospel said you’re saved by being a good person, 181 00:18:02,839 –> 00:18:06,439 then all of us are good persons, might have something to boast about. 182 00:18:07,319 –> 00:18:10,839 But that is precisely what we do not believe. 183 00:18:12,520 –> 00:18:17,560 It is by grace that you have been saved through faith. 184 00:18:17,560 –> 00:18:22,199 It is not off works, it’s not by our high moral principles. 185 00:18:23,400 –> 00:18:26,359 So, that no one should boast, Ephesians 2,8. 186 00:18:27,640 –> 00:18:33,319 Nobody will be saved by being a good moral person or by upholding high principles. 187 00:18:33,319 –> 00:18:40,119 So, I’m increasingly convinced that this issue of humility is crucial 188 00:18:41,800 –> 00:18:46,199 to our effect within the world, as well as to our growth in the Christian life. 189 00:18:47,079 –> 00:18:51,880 And that one of the biggest issues that we need to address and to grapple with and to grow in 190 00:18:53,000 –> 00:19:00,599 is this question of how can you hold high moral principles and be humble. 191 00:19:01,079 –> 00:19:06,839 If we could do that, we might be much better heard. 192 00:19:09,400 –> 00:19:13,400 So, I want to ask three simple questions now as we come back to 1 Peter. 193 00:19:13,400 –> 00:19:17,479 The first very obvious one is what is humility because it’s very important that we understand 194 00:19:17,479 –> 00:19:23,880 what it is and then what it isn’t. Secondly, why is it so important and Peter has a great 195 00:19:23,880 –> 00:19:31,719 deal to say about the critical importance of this issue. Thirdly, how can it be cultivated. 196 00:19:32,439 –> 00:19:37,000 First of all, then what is humility? Now I want to answer that negatively first. Sometimes it’s 197 00:19:37,000 –> 00:19:43,319 helpful to clear away misconceptions so that we can have a clear path for understanding the truth. 198 00:19:43,880 –> 00:19:53,000 So what is humility? First, negatively, humility is not denying your gifts. Now this is very 199 00:19:53,000 –> 00:19:58,439 important, there is absolutely no value in a person who has been gifted by God with 200 00:19:58,439 –> 00:20:03,160 wonderful good looks looking in the mirror and trying to convince themselves that they’re ugly, 201 00:20:03,160 –> 00:20:07,400 that’s just stupid. I mean it doesn’t work, does it? I mean you can’t convince yourself of 202 00:20:07,400 –> 00:20:11,400 something that’s the opposite of what is the case. What is the point of someone who has 203 00:20:11,400 –> 00:20:17,479 been gifted by God with intellectual brilliance trying to convince himself that somehow he 204 00:20:17,479 –> 00:20:22,920 is foolish? There is no point in this, trying to turn truth on its head. What’s the point 205 00:20:22,920 –> 00:20:28,760 in a person who’s an outstanding athlete, gifted by God, trying to make out that they’re really 206 00:20:28,760 –> 00:20:38,280 only moderate? That’s not humility, that’s just plain stupid. It’s nonsense. Humility is not about 207 00:20:38,280 –> 00:20:43,800 denying your gifts, it’s not trying to turn your mind in a knot, convincing yourself the opposite 208 00:20:43,800 –> 00:20:52,680 of what is obviously the case. There is nothing spiritual about talking down what God has enabled 209 00:20:52,680 –> 00:21:00,199 you to do. That’s not humility. Second, humility is not exaggerating your faults. 210 00:21:01,479 –> 00:21:08,199 Now, there is an inverted kind of a form of pride in which, while one person looks in the mirror 211 00:21:08,199 –> 00:21:13,400 and says, My goodness, this will shake the world, there is another person who looks in 212 00:21:13,400 –> 00:21:22,599 the mirror and says, Oh my. When will these zits go away? You know, I think Uriah Heet kind of 213 00:21:22,599 –> 00:21:29,079 approach, I’ve got nothing and I’m so hopeless and I mock everything up and I can’t do anything 214 00:21:29,079 –> 00:21:38,760 And so forth that kind of low self-image can actually be as much a manifestation of pride 215 00:21:38,760 –> 00:21:45,239 as an inflated self-image because the two have one in common, a preoccupation with self 216 00:21:47,000 –> 00:21:51,239 You see the two different ways you can preoccupied with yourself, you can be preoccupied with your 217 00:21:51,239 –> 00:21:58,439 own greatness as you see it. You can be preoccupied with your own smallness as you see it, but either 218 00:21:58,439 –> 00:22:04,439 way we’re in the trap of being preoccupied with ourselves, and that’s the root of pride 219 00:22:06,359 –> 00:22:08,040 So then, what is humility? 220 00:22:10,680 –> 00:22:19,479 Humility is, in the first instance, a release from that dreadful preoccupation with self 221 00:22:20,280 –> 00:22:25,640 Remember, Jesus said, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, not deny his gifts or 222 00:22:25,640 –> 00:22:31,479 his abilities, but deny himself Not pretend that you’re nothing, but get away from 223 00:22:31,479 –> 00:22:38,760 this fundamental preoccupation with yourself. The very heart of the word Pride is that great 224 00:22:38,760 –> 00:22:47,079 big letter, I, and think of it this way. The very heart of the cross is that the great 225 00:22:47,079 –> 00:22:53,319 I is crossed out, and that takes you to the very heart of what it means to be 226 00:22:53,319 –> 00:22:58,920 a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of us think too highly of ourselves, 227 00:22:58,920 –> 00:23:06,040 some of us think too lowly of ourselves, but all of us think too much about ourselves, 228 00:23:06,040 –> 00:23:11,319 right? Far too much about ourselves, me, the center of the world. Whether it’s 229 00:23:11,319 –> 00:23:17,640 little me and I can’t do it or big me and I can do anything. We’re all in this trap 230 00:23:17,640 –> 00:23:24,040 of thinking way too much about ourselves and humility at its heart is a release 231 00:23:25,599 –> 00:23:34,560 from preoccupation with myself. A discovery that this life is not about whether it’s little me, 232 00:23:34,560 –> 00:23:41,439 big me, or any other kind of me. It is about God being glorified in me. I am crucified with Christ 233 00:23:41,479 –> 00:23:49,180 and I no longer live but Christ lives in me and the life I live in the body I live by faith in 234 00:23:49,180 –> 00:23:56,400 the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. There’s the very heart of what it means to 235 00:23:56,400 –> 00:24:03,199 be a Christian. And I find C.S. Lewis again to be very helpful here in pointing that the way 236 00:24:03,199 –> 00:24:08,880 of humility really is about release from preoccupation with self and not about denial 237 00:24:08,900 –> 00:24:15,119 of gifts. He says this and I think it’s very insightful that God’s whole effort he says is 238 00:24:15,119 –> 00:24:23,660 to get the man’s mind off the subject of his own value altogether. God would rather that a man 239 00:24:23,660 –> 00:24:29,880 thought himself a great architect or a great poet and then forgot about it than that he should spend 240 00:24:29,880 –> 00:24:36,339 much time and pain trying to think himself a bad one. You see, it really isn’t trying to pervert 241 00:24:36,339 –> 00:24:43,260 what is true or deny what is good. It’s about being released from being preoccupied with 242 00:24:43,260 –> 00:24:48,300 ourselves. So, someone comes and gives you a compliment for something you did well, 243 00:24:48,300 –> 00:24:53,900 hey, good job. You know, the response of humility isn’t to say, oh, you know, 244 00:24:53,900 –> 00:25:00,459 it wasn’t really that good, you know, I mean, it was—I mean, that’s nonsense. The response is to 245 00:25:01,339 –> 00:25:08,540 and then to move on. And then to move on. Not to let it dwell in your spirit so that you become 246 00:25:08,540 –> 00:25:13,739 preoccupied with yourself and, I guess, really was rather good. That’s where the pride begins, 247 00:25:13,739 –> 00:25:24,420 you see. Humility is a wonderful thing because it is a release from this dreadful preoccupation 248 00:25:24,420 –> 00:25:33,199 with ourselves. It is secondly a beautiful reflection of the character of Jesus. See, 249 00:25:33,199 –> 00:25:38,420 we sometimes think about humility in terms of our faults and our sins. Oh, I’ve got many sins, 250 00:25:38,420 –> 00:25:45,540 many faults, so I should be humble. Jesus had no faults, but he was our model of humility. He had 251 00:25:45,540 –> 00:25:54,099 all gifts, and he walked in humility. The beauty and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is seen 252 00:25:54,160 –> 00:26:01,540 in his humility. Pride is never attractive. It’s always ugly. It was the first movement 253 00:26:01,540 –> 00:26:09,099 of Satan’s soul as he sought to take the place of God. It was the first movement in Eve’s soul 254 00:26:09,099 –> 00:26:13,760 when it was suggested to her that she could be something more than God had called her to be. 255 00:26:13,760 –> 00:26:18,959 Andrew Murray rather beautifully puts it this way, 256 00:26:18,959 –> 00:26:27,560 humility is being clothed with the very beauty and blessedness of Jesus. Humility is to be clothed 257 00:26:27,560 –> 00:26:36,079 with the beauty and the blessedness of Jesus. For his glory is seen as he takes the form of 258 00:26:36,079 –> 00:26:44,119 a servant. And our highest glory is seen in serving others. Now, if that’s what humility 259 00:26:44,300 –> 00:26:49,079 is for us to be released from a preoccupation with ourselves and to reflect the character 260 00:26:49,079 –> 00:26:55,760 of Jesus, why is it so important? Look very simply at what Peter says here. He sets out 261 00:26:55,760 –> 00:27:00,280 four reasons as to why this is of critical importance in our Christian lives. Number one, 262 00:27:00,280 –> 00:27:09,099 verse five, God opposes the proud. Boy, now it’s worth taking a moment to think about that. That’s 263 00:27:09,140 –> 00:27:17,380 strong language, isn’t it? God opposes the proud. He’s writing to Christian believers, 264 00:27:17,380 –> 00:27:22,339 to disciples, and he’s making it very clear that I can throw all the effort of my life 265 00:27:22,339 –> 00:27:27,900 into serving him, but it’s gonna achieve nothing. I’m just gonna be standing still if arrogance 266 00:27:27,900 –> 00:27:36,060 gets in the way, because God opposes the proud. And if God opposes what we seek to do for him, 267 00:27:36,099 –> 00:27:45,300 then what hope have we got? God cannot bear to see pride in his children. Arrogance will bring 268 00:27:45,300 –> 00:27:53,180 me under his fatherly discipline. Number two, God gives grace to the humble. Here’s why it’s 269 00:27:53,180 –> 00:28:02,160 important. Here’s a wonderful positive statement. God gives grace to humble people. You know we 270 00:28:02,160 –> 00:28:08,839 use the phrase, money makes money. You have to have it in order to make it. Well, that’s the 271 00:28:08,839 –> 00:28:17,140 principle that Peter is using here. The grace of humility attracts other expressions of God’s 272 00:28:17,140 –> 00:28:25,599 gracious character to be formed in our lives. In other words, pride closes the door to spiritual 273 00:28:25,800 –> 00:28:35,319 growth but humility opens the door to God’s grace being multiplied in your life. To the humble, 274 00:28:35,319 –> 00:28:44,920 God gives patience. To the humble, God gives peace. To the humble, God gives gentleness. The 275 00:28:44,920 –> 00:28:54,479 fruit of the Spirit grows in the soil of humility. God gives grace to the humble. This is how 276 00:28:54,479 –> 00:29:00,880 spiritual growth happens in a Christian believer, that the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ 277 00:29:00,880 –> 00:29:08,959 is increased and multiplied in the soil of humility. That’s what he’s saying. So it’s 278 00:29:08,959 –> 00:29:13,160 crucial. The soil isn’t there—what’s going to grow? 279 00:29:13,160 –> 00:29:17,319 Thirdly, verse six, God will lift you up. Here’s a marvellous promise as God leads 280 00:29:17,319 –> 00:29:22,119 us through the twisting paths of life with all of their disappointments and frustrations 281 00:29:22,180 –> 00:29:29,619 and unexpected changes. Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, he says. What God 282 00:29:29,619 –> 00:29:35,079 allows that wasn’t what you’d hoped, humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, in due 283 00:29:35,079 –> 00:29:38,000 time he will lift you up. It’s a wonderful promise. 284 00:29:38,000 –> 00:29:45,000 And then, fourthly, God cares for you—verse seven. Cast all your anxiety on him, for he 285 00:29:45,760 –> 00:29:52,099 cares for you. It’s all actually one sentence as Peter originally wrote it. Humble yourselves 286 00:29:52,099 –> 00:29:59,099 he says, casting your care on him, for he cares for you. In other words, the way in 287 00:29:59,859 –> 00:30:06,619 which you humble yourself is to cast your anxieties onto him. There’s a very profound 288 00:30:06,619 –> 00:30:13,619 insight in that connection. You see, it’s the proud person who feels it’s all down 289 00:30:13,780 –> 00:30:20,780 to me. I’ve got to make things happen. Everything in life that affects me is really in my hands. 290 00:30:20,819 –> 00:30:24,739 It’s the proud person who thinks like that, and of course, as soon as we begin to think 291 00:30:24,739 –> 00:30:31,300 it’s all in my hands, it’s all down to me, then we’ve got a lot to worry about. But it’s 292 00:30:31,300 –> 00:30:37,339 pride that makes it think it’s all down to us. Remember Jesus said, which of you, by 293 00:30:37,339 –> 00:30:42,040 worrying, is going to add an hour to your life or an inch to your height? No, what happens 294 00:30:42,040 –> 00:30:49,040 to you is ultimately in the hands of God. So now if I want to deal with my anxieties, 295 00:30:49,760 –> 00:30:56,760 the place to begin is often in addressing my pride. Because it was pride that made me feel 296 00:30:57,000 –> 00:31:03,819 it’s all down to me and it’s the feeling that it’s all down to me that’s made me anxious. 297 00:31:03,819 –> 00:31:10,439 So if I humble myself and reckon that ultimately what happens in my family, in my church, in 298 00:31:10,439 –> 00:31:14,959 all the things that are concerning me, if I recognise that these things are ultimately 299 00:31:15,000 –> 00:31:23,459 in the hands of God, then I’m going to be released from anxiety. Pride leaves me anxious. 300 00:31:23,459 –> 00:31:30,459 Humility says Lord, it is in your hands, and I place it there, and there I will trust. 301 00:31:33,959 –> 00:31:35,800 God cares for you. 302 00:31:35,800 –> 00:31:41,920 Well then, finally, and briefly, how can we cultivate humility? Notice that humility 303 00:31:41,920 –> 00:31:47,140 isn’t something that just happens. It is a matter of an intentional choice. Peter says 304 00:31:47,140 –> 00:31:53,199 in verse 5, “‘Clothed yourselves with humility.’” That’s a very simple picture that anyone can 305 00:31:53,199 –> 00:31:58,160 understand. You get up in the morning, you get in the shower, you come out the shower, 306 00:31:58,160 –> 00:32:03,040 you clear your eyes, and you face the first big decision of the day—what am I going 307 00:32:03,040 –> 00:32:07,920 to wear? And you go into your closet, and you select from the things that are there. 308 00:32:07,920 –> 00:32:09,739 You say, well, I’ll put this on today. 309 00:32:10,459 –> 00:32:14,339 Now, Peter is saying that is exactly how you are to think about this issue—that there 310 00:32:14,339 –> 00:32:21,880 is an intentional choice of putting humility on. It’s not something that just happens. 311 00:32:21,880 –> 00:32:28,140 It is an intentional choice. It is an approach to life. Clothing, of course, is the most 312 00:32:28,140 –> 00:32:33,619 visible thing about you, and so in using that picture he is saying, make this your personal 313 00:32:34,619 –> 00:32:42,239 in life, your humility. And, of course, clothing needs to be suitable. It’s something ridiculous 314 00:32:42,239 –> 00:32:48,800 on a hot summer’s day on the beach if a man turns up with a sweater and an overcoat. 315 00:32:48,800 –> 00:32:52,199 And there’s something equally ridiculous about a man or a woman saying, I’m a follower 316 00:32:52,199 –> 00:33:00,199 of Jesus and being proud about it. Clothe yourselves with humility. I cannot choose 317 00:33:01,060 –> 00:33:07,599 the circumstances of my life, but I can choose the way that I respond to them. 318 00:33:07,599 –> 00:33:13,020 And so when I come in to the closet, as it were, of my spiritual life each day, I know 319 00:33:13,020 –> 00:33:20,020 that hanging there, there are the rather garish clothes of self-importance and self-promotion 320 00:33:21,000 –> 00:33:27,319 and self-interest. And before I go out in the day, Peter says, leave these rags in the 321 00:33:27,339 –> 00:33:34,339 closet. You put on humility. Make that your intentional approach to the whole of life. 322 00:33:37,959 –> 00:33:43,079 And how are we to do that? How are we to humble ourselves to make these intentional choices? 323 00:33:43,079 –> 00:33:48,020 I think there are a couple of things in verse 1 that are helpful here, and let’s just glance 324 00:33:48,020 –> 00:33:55,020 at them as we come towards a conclusion. Remember where you’ve come. Look back at where God 325 00:33:55,979 –> 00:34:02,000 has brought you from. And I see that in the way that Peter just opens up this whole passage. 326 00:34:02,000 –> 00:34:08,239 He says, I’m a witness of Christ’s sufferings. You could have said the resurrection, but 327 00:34:08,239 –> 00:34:11,860 in saying a witness of Christ’s sufferings he’s really intentionally opening up what 328 00:34:11,860 –> 00:34:17,379 happened when he saw Christ’s sufferings, which, of course, is that he denied Jesus. 329 00:34:17,379 –> 00:34:22,760 So, he’s reminding us in that reference right at the beginning, look, I’m not standing before 330 00:34:22,760 –> 00:34:28,719 you as someone who’s never failed. We all have our failures, and I can remember mine. 331 00:34:28,719 –> 00:34:33,639 This is Peter writing. But as he looks back, you see, that’s not 332 00:34:33,639 –> 00:34:39,000 an exercise in condemnation of just plowing over our old sins. He does that because it’s 333 00:34:39,000 –> 00:34:46,320 valuable for us to see how far grace has brought us. That’s why throughout the New Testament 334 00:34:46,320 –> 00:34:51,120 you keep getting this emphasis on, remember what you were. And the descriptions of some 335 00:34:51,120 –> 00:34:55,760 of the ugly things that were in our lives in the past. Peter does it himself, even in 336 00:34:55,760 –> 00:35:01,399 this letter in chapter 2, verses 9 and 10. I mean, it really spells out where grace has 337 00:35:01,399 –> 00:35:09,560 brought us. God called you, chapter 2, verse 9, out of darkness, into his wonderful light. 338 00:35:09,560 –> 00:35:16,340 You were ignorant of God’s truth. You were in the darkness. Once you had not received 339 00:35:16,399 –> 00:35:22,340 mercy, but now you have received mercy. You were guilty of sin. There was nothing you 340 00:35:22,340 –> 00:35:27,280 could do about it, but now you’ve been forgiven. Once you were not a people, but now you are 341 00:35:27,280 –> 00:35:33,139 the people of God. You were an outsider to God’s community, but now you have found a 342 00:35:33,139 –> 00:35:38,800 way in through the grace and the mercy of God. I mean, think about what you were. Look 343 00:35:39,600 –> 00:35:50,760 An ignorant, guilty outsider. n I.G.O. That’s what you were. It’s what we all were. Darkness. 344 00:35:50,760 –> 00:35:57,379 You hadn’t received mercy. You were an outsider to the people of God. I don’t suggest this 345 00:35:57,379 –> 00:36:04,620 as an approach to evangelism by the way. Did you know you are an I.G.O.? You are an ignorant, 346 00:36:04,620 –> 00:36:10,280 guilty outsider. But Peter, writing to believers, says, look, remember that’s where grace has 347 00:36:10,280 –> 00:36:21,520 brought you from. And if you doubt it, ask this question. How come that when other people 348 00:36:21,820 –> 00:36:28,820 you know and love don’t understand God’s truth, you do? How come? What made you so smart? How 349 00:36:35,820 –> 00:36:41,360 come when other people who you know and love, their sins are not at this point forgiven 350 00:36:41,360 –> 00:36:48,360 by God? They’re outside of Christ. Their sins are not forgiven but yours are. How come? 351 00:36:49,080 –> 00:36:54,659 How come that you’re a citizen of heaven today and someone else you know and love is down 352 00:36:54,659 –> 00:37:01,659 the street and they’re not? How come? Answer, the grace and the mercy of God, period. Period. 353 00:37:09,199 –> 00:37:14,520 That is the only difference between you as a Christian believer and someone who is right 354 00:37:14,600 –> 00:37:21,600 outside. Look where grace has brought you and then look where it will bring you. Boy, 355 00:37:24,659 –> 00:37:29,080 that helps humility. You know, we stand by the Grand Canyon or the Alps and you just 356 00:37:29,080 –> 00:37:33,399 begin to see life in yourself in a whole new perspective. Well, here’s a better way of 357 00:37:33,399 –> 00:37:39,560 doing that. Look at the glory that is to be revealed. And you see, that’s what Peter does 358 00:37:39,560 –> 00:37:44,199 in verse 1. As he gets into this whole subject, not only was he a witness of Christ’s suffering, 359 00:37:44,199 –> 00:37:52,360 he says, I’m—I’m going to share in the glory that will be revealed. And in God’s incredible 360 00:37:52,360 –> 00:38:00,800 mercy, he’s going to take an ordinary person like me and when I see him, I will be like him. 361 00:38:00,800 –> 00:38:11,979 And the only explanation of how God could do that in a person like me is his grace. Amazing 362 00:38:12,040 –> 00:38:18,560 grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now 363 00:38:18,560 –> 00:38:27,179 I’m found. I was blind but for the mercy of God, I still would be. But now I see. 364 00:38:27,179 –> 00:38:35,100 It was grace that brought me safe thus far, and it’s grace that’ll lead me home. 365 00:38:35,139 –> 00:38:49,260 Let’s pray together. Father, we confess the sin of pride. We don’t confess it lightly 366 00:38:49,260 –> 00:38:57,300 because we know it is that which you hate, and we ask that you will give us 367 00:38:57,399 –> 00:39:06,500 grace to clothe ourselves in humility and teach us to walk humbly with our 368 00:39:06,500 –> 00:39:14,679 God. We bow in your presence to acknowledge that we have nothing that we 369 00:39:14,679 –> 00:39:25,020 have not received, and that your grace and your grace alone is the explanation 370 00:39:25,020 –> 00:39:33,219 of every good within our lives so we lift our hearts humbly and thankfully to 371 00:39:33,219 –> 00:39:43,219 you, and ask that increasingly you will release us in a self-centered world to 372 00:39:43,320 –> 00:39:54,580 live God-centered lives, by your grace, and for your glory, in Jesus name. 373 00:39:54,580 –> 00:39:56,580 Amen.