Humility is a Choice
Scripture: James 4:1-4Devotional Series: The Fruit of Humility
Teaching: The Fruit Of Humility pt. 1 (WED 2021-04-07) by Pastor Star R Scott
This temple that God has built, this tabernacle that He dwells in, called the body of Christ, His church, is built on a solid foundation; amen? The apostles and the prophets and Jesus Himself as the Chief Cornerstone. He speaks to the apostles, and He speaks also to each and every one of us, “Take heed how you build thereon.” The thing that we look at in a moment like this and the determination we make is this. We will not allow anything to be missing in the house of God. There will not be lack. I’m going to step up and do my part, praise God! Amen? “I’m going to be the man.” Then be the man! Get there the same way all faithful individuals get there, by the process of falling and getting back up; amen? When we look at a departed brother, and we see all of these great things, we talk about the testimonies and the fruit that came out of it. Honor to whom honor is due; amen? But he didn’t come out of the womb that way. He arrived there by doing what we’re talking about tonight. “Come unto me.” It’s a choice that we make to get on this journey, experiencing all of the different trials of life, this battle with the old man, this contention with the flesh, the choice to die daily.
That’s the point I want to make. It’s a choice. We can be absolutely as Christlike as we choose to be. In James’ epistle, Chapter 4:1-4 it says, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James is speaking to these people, and he’s telling them, “Your love and your ambition and your greed and your pride; all of these things are keeping you from being able to fulfill this high calling of God that’s on your life, and that’s the image of Christ, to be like Jesus. “Come and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart’” (Matthew 11:29). As we look at ourselves, where are we in this process? You know we can evaluate ourselves. I would say every one of us is further along in this process of learning the meekness of Christ and the humility of Christ. How many of you are proud to say you’re humbler now than you were? Aren’t you glad that you can observe that you have less pride than there was before? I mean, it’s a thing of seeing because the more you mature, the humbler you become and you understand it’s by grace; amen? It’s absolutely by grace. We are not “getting better,” we are obtaining more grace. Hallelujah! We’re seeking more grace. We’re not seeking these things that are of the flesh, these ambitions. We’re truly seeking to become a greater servant, to become more obedient to the Word of God, to recognize the lordship of Jesus. He wants to reveal Himself to us.
That’s the point I want to make. It’s a choice. We can be absolutely as Christlike as we choose to be. In James’ epistle, Chapter 4:1-4 it says, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James is speaking to these people, and he’s telling them, “Your love and your ambition and your greed and your pride; all of these things are keeping you from being able to fulfill this high calling of God that’s on your life, and that’s the image of Christ, to be like Jesus. “Come and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart’” (Matthew 11:29). As we look at ourselves, where are we in this process? You know we can evaluate ourselves. I would say every one of us is further along in this process of learning the meekness of Christ and the humility of Christ. How many of you are proud to say you’re humbler now than you were? Aren’t you glad that you can observe that you have less pride than there was before? I mean, it’s a thing of seeing because the more you mature, the humbler you become and you understand it’s by grace; amen? It’s absolutely by grace. We are not “getting better,” we are obtaining more grace. Hallelujah! We’re seeking more grace. We’re not seeking these things that are of the flesh, these ambitions. We’re truly seeking to become a greater servant, to become more obedient to the Word of God, to recognize the lordship of Jesus. He wants to reveal Himself to us.