Humble Yourselves
II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called
by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.
The message today is a wakeup call for the entire world. It seems we
live in a time where pride is running rampant. Morality has gone by
the wayside. Nations have turned their backs on the God that created
everything that ever existed. The world has forsaken the God of
Israel and has gone after other gods and the lusts of their own
hearts. Their thoughts are evil continually.
The world is a mess. It wasn't always this way. What happened to us?
Scripture is full of examples. Lets look at a pattern that develops.
Genesis 2:7-8 And the Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 2:15-17 And the Lord God took the man, and
put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to
keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:21-22 And the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took
one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken
from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the
man.
God created man and put him in a perfect paradise. The current state
of humanity at this point was pure in every way. Adam also is in the
presence of God. Notice that where Adam is, his wife is also. Adam is
blameless before God at this point. God has also commanded Adam to not
eat of the fruit of a particular tree. God even warns him about a
consequence that will occur if he does eat of it. Death will be the
result of violating God's commandment. The story doesn't end here.
Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more subtil than
any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the
woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the
tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye
touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto
the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth
know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.
That old serpent the devil has arrived on the scene. Here we see the
seed of deception planted into the mind of the woman. The serpent has
called God a liar by saying "thou shalt not surely die". The devil's
tactics have not changed even today. The devil adds appeal to his
statement to entice Eve by saying "your eyes shall be opened" and "ye
shall be as gods knowing good and evil".
We all are faced with this dilemna. We know what God said, but somehow
the lusts of the eyes gets in the way. The thoughts of the heart result
in an action. Do we obey God or can we just ignore God's warnings?
Genesis 3:6-8 And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave
also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves
together, and made themselves aprons. And they
heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
amongst the trees of the garden.
Here we see the action of disobeying what God has said. On the surface,
it appears that Adam and Eve are getting away with the breaking of God's
commandment. It is obvious that Adam and Eve know what they did was
wrong because they attempt to hide from God. Well noone is getting away
with rebelling against what God has said. From the next passagees we
will see the consequence of breaking God's commandment.
Genesis 3:9-12 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam,
and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I
heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said,
Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten
of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou
shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom
thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat.
Here we see the response of Adam when confronted with his sin. He puts
the blame on Eve. Well excuses don't work with God. When God talks we
should pay attention. Now comes the punishment of the sin.
Genesis 3:13-16 And the Lord God said unto the
woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the
woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou
hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle,
and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days
of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly
multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow
thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou
hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the
ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat
the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The consequences for sin indeed are plentiful. One act of disobedience
can destroy what God has intended for us. Adam and Eve were in the
presence of a holy God when they sinned against Him. Their eyes were
opened and they had knowledge that was forbidden for them to have. God
still has another punishment in mind as we shall soon see.
Genesis 3:20-24 And Adam called his wife's name Eve;
because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam
also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of
skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said,
Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good
and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for
ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the
garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he
was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at
the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the
way of the tree of life.
Here we see the ultimate consequence of sin. Adam is now separated from
the presence of God. No longer can Adam enjoy true fellowship with the
creator. He is now limited to just slaving away just to eat. Before he
had the best food possible. Now he has to eat thorns and thisles and
herbs.
Adam's example of failure is not an isolated incident in the bible. All
throughout history we have the same patterns repeated over and over. The
pattern is always the same. First: God sets the standards by which we
should live--"God's commandments". Second: Temptation entices us to make
a decision--"Obey or Rebel against what God said". Third: acting on the
lusts of the eyes and desires of the heart--"Sin is doing what God hsa
commanded us NOT to do". Fourth: Consequence--"hardships and ultimately
physical death to the body".
Well we seem to have spent much time on a pattern with only one example.
Lets dive into some other places in the bible to see the same order of
rebellion against God. The children of Israel seems likely. Surely the
apple of God's eye will obey right?
Exodus 20:1-5 And God spake all these words, saying,
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate me;
God gave the commands to not have other gods, not to make graven images,
and not to bow down to them.
Exodus 32:1-4 And when the people saw that Moses
delayed to come down out of the mount, the people
gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said
unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before
us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us
up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is
become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off
the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your
wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and
bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the
golden earrings which were in their ears, and
brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at
their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool,
after he had made it a molten calf: and they said,
These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up
out of the land of Egypt.
Aaron, the high priest caves in to the will of the people and makes a
golden calf. The people then said "these be thy gods that brought you
out of the land of Egypt". Unfortuately the rebellion didn't stop with
just making the golden calf.
Exodus 32:5-6 And when Aaron saw it, he built an
altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and
said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they
rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt
offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the
people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to
play.
Now the people are actually worshipping the calf and engaging in acts
that God has strictly forbidden. In addition, Aaron has put the sin
train into high gear by proclaiming a feast. The people are happy to
attend as they will be eating and drinking and playing. The playing in
the King James version waters down what really is going on. They are
engaging in various sexual acts that cannot be uttered here in a mixed
audience. Let's contnue with the pattern.
Exodus 32:7-10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get
thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out
of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
They have turned aside quickly out of the way which
I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf,
and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed
thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel,
which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this
people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now
therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot
against them, and that I may consume them: and I
will make of thee a great nation.
God's wrath is kindled here. His intent is to consume them. This anger
is different from that which was displayed against Adam. Adam at least
wasn't worshipping a golden calf. But the pattern is still the same.
The serpent wasn't shown in the above passages. That doesn't mean he
wasn't enticing someone in the camp. The temptation started somewhere.
Aaron could have refused to submit to the people, but obviously his
heart was not right before God either.
There are many other examples we could use to prove the patterns. The
forty year wilderness wanderings, David's sin with Bath--Sheba, Samson
and Delilah, and many Kings of Israel from the Northern Tribes.
Lets look at the patterns from a differnet perspective. The pattern
could be changed to please God rather than kindle His anger. So back
to the original scripture about being humble before God. Humbleness is
the opposite of pride. To be meek and lowly is better than to lift up
yourself.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:
pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the
froward mouth, do I hate.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and
an haughty spirit before a fall.
Jeremiah 49:16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee,
and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest
in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height
of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as
high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from
thence, saith the Lord.
Pride lifts up ourselves above others. God clearly has a problem with
this type of behaviour. Notice from scripture that "The fear of the
Lord" is to hate pride and arrogance. Notice also that "pride goeth
before destuction". The last scripture from Jeremiah 49:16 shows that
the highest hidest place will be brought down low. The pride of the
heart is the key issue with not humbling ourselves before God.
How are we to act to please God? How can we alter our behaviours to
align with His will? We need to be meek and lowly and have a heart that
that yearns for true fellowship with the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and
instruction.
Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if thou wilt receive my
words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that
thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine
heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after
knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and
searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt
thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God.
Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
True fellowship starts with reading God's word. Again, God gives the
commandments that we must follow. The laws of God are the words that
are written on our hearts. The words of God are for our learning and
protection. When we sin, we disobey God. The patterns from above prove
what happens when we go our own ways. It is better to just do what God
says and not rely on our own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls.
Yes! Trust the Lord with all your heart. Humble yourselves and God will
direct your paths. Jesus set the perfect example on humility. "Learn of
Me". Jesus was meek and lowly in heart. What a perfect example of how
to serve God with a pure heart that pleases Him. The word of God is our
tutor. We all need to spend time in God's word for edification!
Proverbs 3:16-19 These six things doth the Lord hate:
yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look,
a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that
be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that
speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren.
Once the pride and arrogance is out of hearts we can then submit to the
will of God. What is the will of God? We were created for His pleasure.
It is God's will that we worship Him and only Him! We please God by
bowing down to the one who made us. We fall down on our faces before the
God of infinite knowledge. We submit ourselves to His will by obeying
His commandments. We acknowledge that we are helpless without Him in
our lives. He is our everything. He is our help and our hope!
Psalms 18:30-35 As for God, his way is perfect: the
word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all
those that trust in him. For who is God save the Lord?
or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth
me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh
my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high
places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of
steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me
the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath
holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
Psalms 95:6-9 O come, let us worship and bow down: let
us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God;
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of
his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not
your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day
of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
We need to bow down and kneel before the Lord. We need to humble
ourselves and seek His face. We need to pray. We need to turn from our
wicked ways and repent. Repent means to stop doing what God says is wrong.
God gives us a clear warning time and time again in the scriptures.
Jeremiah 4:1-4 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith
the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away
thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou
not remove. And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in
truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the
nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him
shall they glory. For thus saith the Lord to the men
of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,
and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the
Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye
men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my
fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can
quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Both Jew and gentile are part of the body of Christ. God's word is
written for our admonition and learning. When we repent we return unto
God. We must first humble ourselves and get the junk out of our hearts
that God abhors. The pride of man's heart is a weakness that the devil
uses to destroy our fellowship with God. We need to stop playing games
with Satan. He is a defeated enemy. God said so.
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out,
that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 20:2-3 And he laid hold on the dragon,
that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and
bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon
him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till
the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that
he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Yep. Satan, the devil, that old serpent... whatever you want to call him
is a defeated enemy and he is headed to the fire that is never quenched.
What a horrible fate for anyone that worships any God other than the one
true God of Israel. Let us humble ourselves before the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords! Let us bow down and worship Almighty God! Praise be to God
forever and ever AMEN!
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel,
and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first,
and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah 44:24-28 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and
he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that
maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens
alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; That
frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh
diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and
maketh their knowledge foolish; That confirmeth the
word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his
messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be
inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be
built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy
rivers: That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and
shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem,
Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation
shall be laid.
Psalms 148:8-10 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in
the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know
the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul
unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee
unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou
art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of
uprightness.
Psalms 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and
renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from
thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me
with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors
thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own
understanding. Humble yourselves and pray. Turn from your wicked ways.
Seek God with a pure heart and then He will return unto you.
To conclude this message lets look at the pattern that pleases God.
First: God gives the commandment. Second: we obey what God says and do
it. Third: repeat the process until God is finished with us. There will
be a reward. God has made it clear to us in his word.
Hebrews 4:11-13 Let us labour therefore to enter into
that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have
to do.
The rest is eternal life. Let us labour until God takes us home.
Written by Mark Dickens 11/29/2022