Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we continue our series titled The Doctrine of God.
Today we are talking about The Humility of God.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Psalm 113:5-6 AMP
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to regard
The heavens and the earth?
Scripture Reading
Psalm 113:1-9 AMP
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
And His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to regard
The heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor out of the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 That He may seat them with princes,
With the princes of His people.
9 He makes the barren woman live in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Introduction
The humility of God is the thought at the centre of Psalm 113.
This is the first of the six psalms that are known as the “Hallel” because the dominant note in all six is praise.
The Hallel was sung as a part of the Passover observance.
When Mark tells us in Mark 14:26, “After they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” We may assume that a part of the Hallel is what they sang.
Imagine the Kind of Kings and the Lord of Lords singing with His disciples, verses 5 and 6, “Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
Who humbles Himself to regard
The heavens and the earth?”
Two contrasting thoughts about God support and compliment one another in this psalm.
The psalmist praises the name of God on two counts.
He is high, yet He is lowly, above the nations and above the heavens yet humbles Himself to behold the heavens and earth.
The thing that exalts humankind, the contemplation of creation and its glories, humbles God, so far above His creation is He in majesty and might.
He humbles Himself.
These two thoughts about God must always be held together if we are to avoid extremes.
As we think about His humility, we can raise three questions.
- In broad terms, what is humility?
Let me give you six affirmations.
A. Humility is the realisation that we do not know it all.
When a little girl came home from her first day of school, her father teasingly asked, “Did you learn everything today?”
“No”, she answered with disappointment, “I have to go back tomorrow.”
It is good to realise that we have not learned everything, and that we have to go back tomorrow.
B. Humility is the prerequisite to honesty.
This is the kind of honesty that can keep pride from binding us to our own vices as well as the virtues of others.
True humility can free us from the blindness of prejudice, envy, and hatred.
It can enable us to rejoice in the gifts and achievements of others.
C. Humility is willingness to listen.
Jesus said in Mark 4:23-24, If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”
24 Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.
He also said in Luke 8:18, So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”
D. Humility is the disposition to serve.
Those who think they are too big to serve others are really confessing that they are too little.
Jesus performed the lowliest service that one person could render to another, and His dignity suffered not one bit because of it.
He said in Matthew 11:29, Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.
Those who prefer to be servants in the house of God rather than dwell in the tents of the wicked are truly humble people.
E. Humility is God’s way to, and condition for, power.
Only the humble does He deem worthy to trust with power.
What person ever had greater power with God than Moses?
Yet Moses is described in Numbers 12:3 this way, Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.
F. Humility is one of the greatest things in Christian character.
Greatness begins with humility.
Jesus said in Matthew 20:26-27, It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your [willing and humble] slave;
The word translated as “minister” in some Bile translations means “ordinary hired servant”, the word “servant” means a bond slave, owned body and soul by his master.
This is humility.
2. What is the significance of God’s humility?
What insights into His nature does His humility give us?
- God’s humility attests to His greatness.
Read psalm 113:2-5 again.
The greatness of God is a theme of which psalmist never tire.
- God’s greatness is above all duration of time.
Verse 2 says, Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forever.
Moses prayed in Psalm 90:2, Before the mountains were born
Or before You had given birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.
2. God’s greatness is above all the expanse of space.
Psalm 113:3 tells us,
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].
The mightiest mountain is but a speck, the earth itself is but a speck in the system to which it belongs, and our solar system is but a speck in the numerous systems in this vast universe.
Draw the line where you will, the immeasurable lies beyond, but above that immeasurable, sits God enthroned.
3. His greatness is above all nations, verse 4 tells us, The Lord is high above all nations,
And His glory above the heavens.
4. His greatness is beyond all comparison.
Solomon said in 2 Chronicles 6:18, “But will God actually dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!
Although God’s seat is on high, He humbles Himself in regard to us.
B. God’s humility explains His works and His ways.
Read Psalm 113:6-9 again.
His majesty alone would overwhelm us by its grandeur.
He raises the poor out of the dust and the needy from the trash heaps where they struggle to survive.
He exalts the ordinary man to be a prince among people.
Remember David, who was elevated from shepherd boy to be king of Israel.
Wonderful are God’s works.
C. God’s humility demonstrates His matchless love.
Psalm 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?
What is man, indeed?
Man is one who is loved by the God of might who, humbles himself.
Love that goes outward from a person’s heart to another is affection.
Love that stoops is grace.
God stoops to us.
Gos has demonstrated His love.
When we were dead in trespasses and sin, He came, taking onto Himself the former a servant the likeness of men.
And that was not all.
Philippians 2:8 says, After He was found in [terms of His] outward appearance as a man [for a divinely-appointed time], He humbled Himself [still further] by becoming obedient [to the Father] to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Now we know that God is love.
3. What should result in our lives from even a glimpse of God’s humility?
To realise that, for our sakes, God humbles Himself, that He stoops all the way down to where we are, should change our lives.
- This truth, truely accepted, will help us toward spiritual maturity.
Humility is a crucial factor in Christian growth.
If we are humble, we will make life a long experience of learning wonderful things out of God’s word, out of God’s world, and from God’s people.
Those who cease to hunger and thirst after righteousness, are not humble.
They are filled with pride.
B. This truth should urge us to see ourselves in the perspective of God’s universe.
Humility is the way we feel when we see ourselves as part of God’s world.
Humility is the only honest reaction when we see ourselves as part of God’s world and feel His claim on us.
C. This truth should make us willing to let God be God in our lives.
We should let God put us in our proper place.
We should be glad for that place, whatever it is.
Humility leads us to make the right estimate of ourselves, it also helps us accept God’s estimate of us and God’s place for us.
D. This truth should inspire us to imitate our Lord.
Paul told the Philippians in verse 2:5, “Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility],”
What did he mean?
He meant for us to imitate Christ in His humility.
In Philippians 2:6-8 he expanded his thought fully.
Jesus calls His followers to do the same work He did.
Conclusion.
Such a faith would make a great difference in our lives.
God is high and lifted up, transcending all human thought, imagination, and reason.
Yet He is with us as we set out on the day’s adventure and as we commit ourselves to sleep.
He is with us when troupes and temptations come and when success spreads its subtler danger in our path.
So near is He that when we cry out He hears our faintest whisper and answers our feeblest prayer.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2021 IS A YEAR OF REFORMATION
© www.refinerylife.org 2021 All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part of this Article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission.
Visit us at
@PastorGaryHoban
@RefineryLifeGC
@PastorGaryHoban
@RefineryLifeChurch
@gary_hoban
@refinerylifechurch
YouTube
Gary Hoban
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxvrTCsjg98vGjMTObxJhtQ
Refinery Life Church Australia
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkvD9z50SuKWxhSw0TPQkgQ
