Clothed with Humility

Last month when I spoke here we looked for a second time at the Book of 2nd Peter, chapter1, where we find this wonderful list of Christian virtues: Faith, Goodness, Knowledge, Self-Control, Perseverence, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness, and Love. This is the very list of qualities that the God-fearing folk of Gwynneville Christian Church remind one another about every week. These are the qualities that we strive to possess in “increasing measure”. You may remember that I fashioned a little diagram that I compared to a game-board. When you become a Christian, in the game that I imagine, you begin to live by faith—faith in the Son of God, the one who loves us and gave himself for us. And you progress around this game-board of your Christian life and experience, growing in grace and fullness in each of these qualities. Spiraling up into maturity as a disciple of Jesus. Sometimes you make pretty good progress, by the grace of God, and sometimes you get stuck or you get sent back. But it’s OK if you get stuck or if you lose a turn or even if you get sent all the way back to Square One and find yourself reliving and relearning some of the same things over again. In a new way, perhaps; in a fresh context. It’s OK if you suffer through such obstacles, setbacks and disappointments because in those experiences you have the opportunity to grow, to mature, and ultimately to bring greater glory to God through your testimony and your relationships. Today we are going to spend a little more time with Peter. Our text today is from 1st Peter chapter 5, verses 5—11. I’d like to read that passage to you right now. Then we’ll pray together and spend a few minutes considering the challenges and encouragements that are presented to us in these verses. 1st Peter 5:5—11 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. Let’s pause right there just for a moment and consider a couple things: · “Young men” refers to any of us who have been placed under the leadership of people who are lead by God. · “in the same way” refers to verses 1-4 where leaders are called to lead with love, to be willing and eager serve for the glory of God, and to submit in every way to the leadership of Jesus Christ, our Savior. (returning to the text) All of you clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. Will you join me in prayer? Father in Heaven, we humble ourselves beneath your mighty hand today. Our heart’s desire is to be fully restored to you—to be strong, firm and steadfast in our faith, and to bring glory and honor to your name. We pray, Father that you would fill us with your Spirit today and make us willing to hear your voice and eager to obey. Amen. The Bible is such a wonderful gift from God! Would you agree? I am thrilled by this vivid and compelling word picture that Peter presents to us in this 5th verse: “…all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…” I am confident that as he wrote these words to you and me, he was picturing that night in the Upper Room where Jesus clothed himself with humility. According to the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus took off his outer garments, wrapped himself in a towel, and washed the feet of his disciples, including Peter. You may recall that Peter resisted. “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” John 13:8a Jesus had to explain to Peter and to the other disciples that he was calling them to follow his example of humility. By letting Jesus wash their feet they were accepting his call to the full extent of humility. Jesus said, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:16 Peter learned something about humility that night in the Upper Room. He learned it from the Master. It’s a lesson that he needed a refresher on once or twice when he became a little nearsighted—a little forgetful, but I think that’s normal and forgivable! When I read these words that Peter wrote, drawing on his experience, I am blessed and encouraged. Because every time I stand before you in this pulpit I am drawing on my personal experience. (You may already have figured that out—you may have known that before I did!) I had a humility issue recently. One of my friends pointed it out to me as I spoke with him about a burden that I was carrying. He advised me to humble myself under the mighty hand of God and trust in him to lift me up in his time. He didn’t use those exact words. He did not actually quote scripture to me. But in his own words, speaking the truth in love, he told me to forget about my agenda because it wasn’t nearly as important as I imagined it to be, and trust in the Lord. Trust in his will and in his timing. I came away from our conversation relieved and rejoicing because I was reminded that I can cast my burden on my Lord Jesus because he cares for me. I spoke with another one of my friends about my feelings—about this burden that I was carrying and he confirmed what my first friend said. Only he didn’t call it a lack of humility on my part, he called it pride. And that surprised me. My friend laughed at me (or with me, perhaps), when I told him that previous to my conversation with him I did not think I was capable of pride. I thought pride was something that other people were plagued with, but not me. And I think that attitude is a good illustration of verse 8. Because the devil is indeed our enemy. And he is an opportunist. He prowls and pounces. It’s true that he has a mighty roar, but his feet are padded. He’ll sneak up on you and attack you where you are most vulnerable. And he knows your blind side. He sees best in the dark. Do you remember our teaching from last month, from 2nd Peter 1:9? But if anyone does not have them (does not possess these listed qualities in increasing measure), he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed of his past sins. What does it mean to be spiritually nearsighted—spiritually blind? It means that you are not seeing beyond yourself, beyond your needs and your space. You are not seeing the world around you the way God sees it. What does it mean to be spiritually forgetful? It means that you don’t remember how Jesus clothed himself with humility and showed you the full extent of his love. You’ve forgotten that He washed your feet so that you would wash the feet of others. We cannot be self-controlled when we allow ourselves to be controlled by thoughts and emotions that corrupt the Fruit of the Spirit. We cannot be alert to the devil’s attacks when we are preoccupied by things like pride and selfishness. We cannot resist the devil, this “ravening and roaring lion” if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We resist him by standing firm in the faith. We are called to stand firm in the faith, but we are not called to stand alone. We have brothers and sisters throughout the world and within our community who are being stalked and bullied by the devil. We have people very near who are dealing with obstacles, setbacks, and disappointments just like we are. In my recent experience God showed me that we need to seek out brothers and sisters in the faith who can stand next to us on our blind side, and who can remind us of things that we may have forgotten. With our eyes opened and our minds alert, we can fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and we can clothe ourselves in humility as he did. He himself will restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. And so we find ourselves once again at that familiar place where we arrive so often on Sunday mornings: a place of decision. Surrounded by people who love us as only the Church can; confronted with the gentle, inexorable truth of God’s Word and the recurring reality of our brokenness. Am I going to humble myself under the mighty hand of God and accept the good and perfect gifts that he has in store for me? Or am I going to be humbled by pride and selfishness and fear? Am I going to submit to the Author and Finisher of my Faith; the one who loves me and gave himself for me? Or do I choose to be devoured in helpless shame and ruin by the deceiver of my soul? If you have a decision that you need to make or to proclaim this morning I invite you to do so as we sing this Hymn of Invitation.

Double Sixes!

Recently I preached a sermon at Gwynneville Christian Church in the little town of Gwynneville, Indiana. They are lovely folk and they allow me to come once a month and deliver the sermon in their worship service. I posted an illustration that I made for my most recent effort on Facebook. It's kinda primitive and clumsy, like my sermons, but I think it is effective. I thought someone may appreciate reading the manuscript of the sermon.

Good morning, everyone… Well, I guess I’ll just have to admit that Summer is really over and Autumn is in full swing! When did all the leaves change? It seems like it always happens this way. I knew it was coming; the signs were clear to see. But all of the sudden the days are short, the mornings are chilly and now the ground is covered with leaves! Seasons are a fascinating thing. Some seasons, like the seasons of the Earth, move through a regular cycle. Winter, Spring, Summer, then Fall, then Winter and Spring! God promised that as long as the Earth remains we will have a regular cycle of seasons. The Earth is renewed year after year. The seasons of our lives are not quite like that. Every day is a new day, but we only get one life. If you’re like me, you’re still basking in warm memories of Summer and you’re not ready to admit that the autumn years are creeping up on you. These reading glasses are a constant reminder that my autumn years are creeping up on me. It’s not just that my eyesight is failing, but I keep forgetting where my glasses are. I’ve got like 8 pair of these scattered around where I live and work and I still have to search for them. But, despite my forgetfulness and the frosty morning I was able to remember that today is the 4th Sunday and I found my way to Gwynneville Christian Church, where it’s always warm inside, and every week we renew our devotion to the Person, the Word, and the Kingdom of God and we reaffirm our fellowship with one another. Today we are returning to the text I preached from the last time I was here. I came in my shirtsleeves on a warm September morning and we opened our Bibles together to 2nd Peter, chapter 1. 2nd Peter 1:5-9 NIV For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Verse 5 begins with the words, “For this very reason”. For what reason? Why is it important that you and I understand the meaning of these next several verses? Because God is Sovereign and Holy; because he is at work in your life, your community, your world. He has called you to join him in that work and he has given you everything you need for the task at hand. I drew a diagram to illustrate the relationship of these seven virtues that come out of the text. As you see, I’ve made it in the shape of a circle or a wheel, as opposed to a ladder or a timeline. Because, while there is kind of a progressive element, in that goodness (just beyond the starting point) refers to the basic or rudimentary qualities of discipleship; and love, Christ-like love, (at the end of the list) is in many ways the pinnacle of virtues, our growth and maturity in Christ is not just linear. There is a repetitive, or cyclical or by-demand element to our spiritual formation and growth. I’ve got my little people, as you can see, entering the diagram in faith. We know that: “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and the he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 NIV So we come to Christ by grace, through faith. It’s kinda like a board game. You begin with your game-piece – your slipper, or your racecar, or your thimble, at faith and from there you move directly to goodness. (Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.00.) The object of the game is to keep moving, keep growing. Don’t get stuck. If you’ll kindly indulge me, for the sake of my diagram, let’s say you have to move your game-piece all the way around the circle. So to your faith, add goodness. To your goodness, add knowledge. And then it starts to get tough for some of us. We might get stuck here and lose a turn. Because we gotta add self-control. But that’s OK—we’ll catch up! We’re all winners here if we come through faith and we keep moving and growing! If there is any question or doubt in your mind (are there any theologians in the house?) about what, if any, role you and I play in our own spiritual development it may be instructive to note that self-control, by definition, is something that you must do for yourself. Or at the very least there is certainly some element of personal effort. And to self-control add endurance. Here we get another clue about the nature and process of our spiritual growth. Endurance is something that takes time. That’s why they call it endurance—it involves a duration. You don’t begin with it. It can only be endurance if it has some maturity to it. To endurance add godliness, brotherly kindness, and Love. For the purpose of my illustration let’s say that you have to move all the way around the circle one time and spend as much time as necessary on each area. And then we get to verse 8. This is the increasing measure part. As we walk with the Lord, in the light of his Word, we constantly encounter opportunities for growth in each of these areas. And if we are growing in grace and applying our faith to the life that we live in theses bodies—if we are being effective and productive—there is always going to be an area we need some work in. As we grow in some areas of our lives there are gonna be other areas that may lag behind. And we’ll have challenges that arise and responsibilities thrust upon us that force us to grow or get stuck. And Jesus is there, right in the middle of it. He provides the grace to help us in the time of our need. Amen? But… And there it is. There’s the but. There’s the October thunderstorm that blows all the leaves off the trees. There’s the first hard frost that kills all the petunias. Verse 9, “…if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind…and forgetful…” Nobody wants to be nearsighted and forgetful. I’ve never heard anybody brag about how blind they are, or about all the things they forget. What does it mean to be spiritually nearsighted—spiritually blind? It means that you cannot see beyond yourself, beyond your needs and your experience. You cannot see the world around you the way God sees it. You don’t see how he is working and how he is calling you to join him. It means that your are stuck. You’re not growing! What does it mean to be spiritually forgetful? It means that you don’t remember how Jesus lifted you up out of the “miry clay” and set your feet on a rock, and put a new song in your mouth. You have forgotten how Jesus has set your free to be his servant! And now you’re stuck. You’re not growing! And that’s why you look down, and you see dead leaves all over the ground, and you’re depressed, instead of looking up and seeing the bright colors of Autumn, and praising God for the rest and renewal that he promises in his word. Sometimes you gotta come all the way back to goodness and relearn some of the basics of your faith, so you can move forward again. And Jesus will meet you there! But you gotta invest a little humility. I remember playing a lot of board games when I was a kid—especially during the winter and the holidays. We played Candyland and Chutes and Ladders and Aggravation and Backgammon. I still enjoy boardgames! Don’t you? It’s fun to roll double sixes and get an extra turn and keep moving! But sometimes you land in a bad place and you miss a turn. You might even get stuck while everyone else keeps moving. But even worse is when you get sent all the way back to the beginning! (Actually the worst thing is when your little sister sends you back and laughs at you, but I digress). But that’s OK. It really is. Because we are all playing the same game and we keep playing until everybody makes it home. You only lose when you quit playing. I could go on to talk about what it might look like to be stuck on, or to return to each of these areas and how to get growing again, but you can study it for yourself and God can speak truth directly to your heart. In just a few minutes our song leader is going lead us in a hymn of invitation. The invitation is always open for you to come forward or to otherwise grab someone’s attention to say “hey, how can I take that first step of faith in Christ?” Or to say “hey, I feel like I’m stuck, I’m not growing, what should I do?” Let’s pray together and then we’ll sing.