Humility will keep self in a place where we cannot be deceived, we cannot be enticed away, because we are teachable and know we don’t know our own hearts and we’ll listen to counsel and listen to the Word of God as it even comes from the mouth of a child.  Are you there?  Or do you know?  Are you ready to be taught?  Are you ready to be counseled?  Are you ready to be instructed?  See, we all want to be the teacher.  Have you ever heard this said by anybody?  “Don’t tell me what to do.”  That comes so readily from the mouth of a prideful, haughty, rebellious man.  Don’t you want to hear what God’s got to say?  “Pastor, are you telling us that somebody else can hear from God besides me?  I get my direction from God.”  We talked about that the other day as we were talking about carnality and, “I’m of Paul” and, “I’m of Apollos,” and then those that are really, “I’m of Christ.”  Well, if you’re “of Christ” then where is that lowliness and meekness?  He made Himself of no reputation, and we’re so concerned about ours.  He that is little in his own eyes will not be troubled to be little in the eyes of others.

We think if somebody has a wrong perception of us, we need to set them right.  We’ve got to set our image right.  I don’t want anybody thinking that I’m not as great as I think I am.  To walk as He walked, with no reputation.  All the lies that were against Him, He continued faithful.  He’s told us, as it relates to society, that they’re going to hate us.  They’re going to say all manner of evil against us.  Beloved, we’re going to need humility in these last days so that we don’t get caught up in using carnal weapons to respond, or in some way become distracted, and many will then begin to fall into doubts and fears.  Others, then, will fall into depression.  We’ve got to take that same spirit that God had to remind Samuel of and say, “Samuel, they’re not rejecting you, they’re rejecting Me.”  Amen?  When the world or other people respond negatively to us, hopefully, it’s the Jesus that’s in us, the words that we’re speaking; amen?  So, we don’t care what they have to say.  I don’t have to justify myself.  What does that enable me to do?  It enables me to bless my enemies, to pray for those that hate me, that say all manner of evil against me.  “Why?  How can you do that?”  It’s very simple if you can identify yourself as the chief of sinners.  It’s pretty easy when you truly believe “…that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.”  See, our doctrine’s great.  This is the Christlikeness, not only as we show it toward our enemies, but as we walk humbly among ourselves and prefer others here in our midst and truly love one another that the world is going to look on us and, “This is going to be the testimony (amen?), that God has raised Jesus from the dead,” the Scripture says.  There will be a lot of talking, but people are watching for the true humility, the true love of God, to manifest itself.  It speaks very loudly.  It speaks very clearly

So, we find Jeremiah here and his ministry is being set apart by God and in this first chapter it says in verse 4, “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet….”  It’s as prominent in ministry as probably anywhere else, but the temptation and the danger of people that have a call of God on their lives, that have experienced the anointing, the supernatural, to begin to think that, somehow, they’re special.  What do you have, what did Jeremiah have, that wasn’t given to Him?  Amen?  He did not achieve this status; it was on him before he was even conceived.  God chooses men.  If you’re chosen of God, you shouldn’t be proud; it should make you humble because you know you haven’t achieved anything.  Amen?  That’s genuine humility.  That’s the humility that was being expressed in the life of Jesus.