he who humbles himself

+ Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost +
August 29, 2010
Go and sit in the lowest place…He who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 14:10a, 11b
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. Matthew 11:29
We cannot find humility by our own efforts, but only by confessing our helpless pride and taking the yoke of our Savior Christ Jesus.
1. Find humility by showing love to those who cannot repay
a. Show hospitality to strangers – time to end the isolation with our own neighbors! Luke 14:13-14 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you.
b. Remember those in prison, those who are mistreated -- but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil. 2)
2. Find humility by embracing God’s priorities
a. Holding marriage in honor, being content and thankful (gay pride?)
b. Remembering your leaders who spoke the word of God to you, who keep watch over your souls.
To neglect your church, your prayer, your Bible study, your devotions, is to tell God that you have no desire to grow, to become more and more His child, that you are satisfied with being a weak and shaky Christian, and that you have had as much as you want from Him. How perilously such a person is slipping away from God. Everything that is not in accord with God's will is given over to death and the power of darkness. But, my friends, if we cling to Christ and His Word, growing daily in the will of God, striving to bring our lives into harmony with that will, what strength is ours, what then can harm us? When we are given over to the will of God, nothing can destroy, no more than God and His will can be destroyed. The unshakeable strength of the will of God is in us, though the world turn upside down. -- Dr. Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons, p. 245.