IS HUMILITY IMPQRTANT - THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT?

HUMILITY THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT

Promotion comes not from the east, or the west, or from the north, or from the south; for God is judge; He puts one down and sets up another. (Psalms 75:6)

Ps 149:4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; 

he crowns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)

How do we receive a serious and blessed calling from God? It is only when we humble ourselves. One preacher put it like this: “The way up, is down!”

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The LORD lifts up the humble

but casts the wicked to the ground. (Psalms 147:6)

Two very humble people who had great faith and were blessed by the Lord Jesus, were the Centurion in Mark 8:8

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

And the Syro-Phoenician lady in Mark 17:27-30

“First let the children eat all they want,” Jesus told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their (pet) dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the (pet) dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  Mark 9:35

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45

Paul the apostle's desire for the Christians in Philippi:

“Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...”

(Philippians 2:2-5)

Paul's view of himself:

0“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8)

“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:9)

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But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.”

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:6, 10)

The desire of every Christian should be humility. It is essential for effective worship and service, and bringing glory to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

Psalms 22:6 (Jesus and King David), 25:9, 37:11, 131:1-2,

Proverbs 11:2, 15:33, 22:4,

Isaiah 66:2

Jeremiah 45:5

Micah 6:8

Zephaniah 3:11

Matthew 11:29, 18:2-4, 20:26-27, 23:12,

Luke 14:10, 17:10, 22:24-27,

1 Corinthians 15:10,

2 Corinthians 3:5, 11:30, 12:7,

Galatians 5:26, 6:14,

Colossians 3:12,

1 Peter 5:3-6

 

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

 

Assurance of Salvation

I was chatting with a church member about looking forward to Heaven. “How do you know you are going there?” she asked. “I have the word of a Gentleman,” was my answer.

In the numerous famous Gospel verses we have the Divine promises.

^{Acts 2:21} “And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

^{John 3:16} “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

^{John 3:17} For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

^{John 3:18} Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

John 6:37b  Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away." 

^{Ephesians 2:8} For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

^{Ephesians 2:9} not by works, so that no one can boast.

^{Romans10:9-10} That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

^{Acts 4:12} Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Here is God's plan and purpose: the salvation of sinful humans. Jesus said to people, “Your faith has saved you.” (Luke 7:50)

It is possible to attend church, pray and study the Bible, and not have asked the Lord Jesus to be our Lord and our Saviour. I worked with a Curate at a Cathedral, who entered service there without assurance of salvation, but certainty came – probably with the help of his Bishop.

God looks for our faith. There is then the certainty which comes from our witness, our slowly changed life (John's First Letter), and in many fellowships, the subjective experience of the Holy Spirit – Acts 10:44-46.

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The … believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”

House Group Witness

 

We can convey the vital Christian message to family and friends by using the excellent books and audio-visual material, but how do we reach the outsiders? The House Group of our Parish Church (UK) has invested £45 GBP in 300 copies of Professor Steve Taylor's tract “Accident or Design?”, from Eden Books Online, mainly to distribute to the thousands of visitors to our famous Country Park. Roughly two thirds of our contacts know the yarn about the Professor well pinned on UK television: one of his Liverpool University students told him of the workmen making a car park in the city of Leicester, who had unearthed a skeleton thought to be that of King Richard III, (killed in battle); they had the technology to nail it. They went to the site, and proved it to be indeed the King.

Atheist or Agnostic, Hello!

So, my friend, you do not believe in God. What kind of God do you not believe in? The Lord Jesus the Messiah: for whom the whole of Creation was made, and by whom it was made: the Cosmos and time, billions of Galaxies with billions of Stars, the complexity of the miniaturised city-like complex of the human living cell, the beauty and variety of plants, birds, and animals, the reliability of biblical history, revelation and prophecy (soon to be wrapped-up). The Lord Jesus the Messiah, Who died a cruel death to win our acquittal, if we will accept it, through faith. Just be sure Who you are rejecting, and its possible everlasting consequences. Are you really certain about this?

The World and the Cosmos today is cursed by a just God, as a punishment for human sin – so originally it was even more wonderful. Prophecy tells us that all will be destroyed following a terrible time of judgment. But human beings are eternal, and cannot totally die - they are made in the Image of GOD. 

The most terrible thing imaginable is to reject God's offer of Mercy, Salvation, and Forgiveness, through the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ.      

Acts of the Apoistles chapter 2 verse 21 

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

HOPE, JESUS'S MESSAGE FOR ALL, OF AUTHENTICITY, LIFE AND FORGIVENESS, VIA PETER HIS APOSTLE

Jesus's Message for all, of authenticity, life and forgiveness, via Peter the Apostle. God prepared a Roman Centurion to send for Peter by the visit of an angel. Peter was guided by a vision, and the Holy Spirit, to go to the Centurion

^{New Testament of the Bible, Acts of the Apostles 10:34-48} Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism, but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached — how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen — by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The ... believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." 

Romans 3:23-24

Titus 3:1-2 Remind the people ... to considerate/courteous, and to show tru (NIV/ESV)

JEWISH PEOPLE - WHY DO THEY SUFFER?

 

TWO OBVIOUS RESONS WHY JEWISH PEOPLE SUFFER

Sometimes Jewish folk are heard to ruminate on their wish that the Lord had chosen someone else. God always appears to be punishing them. This has not only been true in recent centuries, but throughout their history.

1. Satan hates GOD'S work and HIS people - so the Devil causes them as much trouble as GOD allows. This shows which side antagonists of the Jews are on!

2. God is punishing His People! Here is a short list: the result of worshipping of the Golden Calf at Sinai, following Achan's sin at Jericho, the rebellion of Korah, Datham, Abiram, plus 250 others, against Moses, murmuring against GOD, the Nation under King Saul, the Exile of Israel and Judah, and the occupation by various Empires (Assyrian, Babylonian, Mede-Persian, Greek, Roman, etc). There was the colossal destruction of Jerusalem with its Temple, and the 2,000 year dispersion of the Jews to many parts of the world – in AD 70, by the troops under General, later Emperor, Titus. Always there was a judgment connected with moral and spiritual failure. One must wonder what was the cause in AD 70? Then the Pogroms, the Holocaust, and the vicious massacre of October 7^th 2023. What are they doing wrong? Moses' Song in Deuteronomy 32 is worth reading.

The greatest priviledge on Earth is to be one of God's Chosen People; but it brings with it the greatest resposibility of all - being faithful to God, His revelation, and His Covenant. God will be faithful to His part of the Covenant!