Bible Study Notes
4-16-2016 Work Party

Humility

Chapter 4

Highlighted=quote from book

Italicized=quote from handout

Pray

Recap

God Created us to show & share His goodness

Pride interferes w/ the great blessings God wants to give us & empower us to give to others

Pride comes from the devil, entered the world at the fall

We must be restored to full humility to regain that connection to the full blessedness God offers

Jesus is the source of restored humility, we get it from and through Him.

Jesus is the model of that fruitful humility; he was perfectly yielded to the Father & the Spirit

We therefore need to prayerfully study Jesus’ life & strive to follow His examples.

This week we are going to look at Jesus’ teachings on Humility

Jesus: humility results in blessings

Matthew 5:3,5

Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.

             

Matthew 11:29

Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

Luke 14:1-11

 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Luke18:14

 Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The path in which Jesus walked, and which He opened up for us, the power and spirit in which He wrought out salvation … is ever the humility that makes men the servant of all.

That is consistent with scripture

Proverbs 3:34

He mocks proud mockers, but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.

Proverbs 29:23  

the humble of spirit acquire honor.

Sirach 3:17-18

My son, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. 18 Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find mercy in the sight of God.

1 Peter 5:5-7

And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, then, under God's mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time.

We see that in the lives of Abraham, Joseph, Moses & Daniel

         All surrendered themselves to God

         All devoted themselves to serving their fellow man

        

                  = humility

         All were greatly blessed

         All greatly blessed others

God is faithful. Just as water ever seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds the creature abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless

So how do we do that, what are the nuts & bolts of humility, what does humility look like?

         Meekness

Matthew 5:3,5

Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth."

"Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls."

1 Peter 5:6-7

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

The meek=those who seek nothing in themselves

Meekness and lowliness the one thing He offers us; in it we shall find perfect rest of soul.

At first it may appear hard; this is only because of the pride which still counts itself something.

once we learn that to be nothing before God is the glory of the creature, the spirit of Jesus, the joy of heaven, we shall welcome with our whole heart the discipline we may have in serving even those who try to vex us

Active service

Matthew 23:11

He that is greatest among you shall be your servant."

Luke 22:26

He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. I am among you as he that serveth."

Matthew 20:27

Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.

the character of a faithful servant = Devotion to the master's interests, thoughtful study and care to please him, delight in his prosperity and honor and happiness.

joy in the Christian life = yield ourselves as servants, as slaves to God, and to find that His service is our highest liberty-the liberty from sin and self?

to be servants of one another, and that, as we accept it heartily, this service too will be a most blessed one, a new and fuller liberty too from sin and self

become the servant of all! This is the path to the gladness and the glory of Christ's presence ever in us, His power ever resting on us.

Example= Joy in garden, Christmas store

Case Study

Luke 7:1-10

When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 A Roman officer (high status/authority) there had a servant (care for those of lesser status) who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders (sought help from those he was supposed to be superior to) to ask him to come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. 5 He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.” (had a servant’s heart/disposition)

6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, 7 neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. (the opposite of pride) Just give the order, and my servant will get well (meek). 8 I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!” (the officer’s pride resulted in exaltation—then & now)

10 The messengers went back to the officer's house and found his servant well. (the officer’s pride resulted in blessing—then & now)

Bible Study Notes
4-2-2016 work session

A. Murray, Humility

Chapter 3

Highlighted=quote from book

Italicized=quote from handout

Pray

Recap

God Created us to show & share His goodness

Pride interferes w/ the great blessings God wants to give us & empower us to give to others

Pride comes from the devil, entered the world at the fall

We must be restored to full humility to regain that connection to the full blessedness God offers

Jesus is the source of restored humility, we get it from and through Him.

What is Humility?

Humility is the “simple consent of the creature to let God be all, in virtue of which it surrenders itself to His working alone.”

Humility is being “a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness.”

We are humble when we become “an empty vessel which God must fill”

Jesus Modeled it

His whole spirit was that of a life yielded to God to work in.

He never for a moment thought of seeking His honor, or asserting His power to vindicate Himself.

A.  Murray, Humility, chapter 3

Listen to the words in which our Lord speaks of His relation to the Father, and how unceasingly He uses the words not, and nothing, of Himself.

***

"The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5:19).

"I can of My own self do nothing; My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will" (John 5:30).

"I receive not glory from men" (John 5:41).

"I am come not to do Mine own will" (John 6:38).

"My teaching is not Mine" (John 7:16)

"I am not come of Myself" (John 7:28)

"I do nothing of Myself" (John 8:28)

"I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me" (John 8: 42).

"I seek not Mine own glory" (John 8:50)

"The words that I say, I speak not from Myself" (John 14:10).

"The word which ye hear is not Mine" (John 14:24).

These words open to us the deepest roots of Christ's life and work. They tell us how it was that the Almighty God was able to work His mighty redemptive work through Him.

***

It is this: He was nothing, that God might be all. He resigned Himself with His will and His powers entirely for the Father to work in Him. Of His own power, His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and His teaching, of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself to the Father to work…

That was not just talk, Jesus lived this out, sometimes at great cost:

Matthew 3:1-2, 5-6, 8, 11-4:3

1 In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea 2 saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

***

5 At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him 6 and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

***

8 Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.

***

11 I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15 Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. 3 The tempter approached …

Jesus had no sin to deal with via baptism, but He submitted to baptism in order to execute the mission given to Him

         Submitted to something beneath Himself for the sake of those

         God sent Him to reach

                  That selflessness manifested humility

Jesus did not need to prove himself to the Father via the temptations, but went through that very tough experience in order to provide us with and example/ instruction

Again, He submitted to something beneath Himself for the sake of those God sent Him to reach

                 

                  That selflessness very powerfully manifested humility

His life showed the fruits of Humility

         Peace in the midst of stress

This life of entire self-abnegation, of absolute submission and dependence upon the Father's will, Christ found to be one of perfect peace and joy.

Not freedom from stress/adversity, but the ability to deal w/ stress/adversity

                  The context of the vv. cited in the Murray quote

                  Jesus was in tense, contentious, situations, but had peace

         Humility before others

And because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all.

He counted Himself the Servant of men, that through Him God might do His work of love.

         We see that in the Matthew passage, in connection with the temptation

Ratification, strengthening, honor from the Father

He lost nothing by giving all to God. God honored His trust, and did all for Him, and then exalted Him to His own right hand in glory.

And what He taught so often was made true to Himself: "He that humbleth him: shall be exalted."

Matthew 4:16-17

16 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. 17 And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

We’re unlikely to see such dramatic affirmation, but God will ratify/honor our acts of humility

Example:                    Kids issue

We must therefore become more like Jesus         

We must learn of Jesus, how He is meek and lowly of heart.

He teaches us where true humility takes its rise and finds its strength-in the knowledge that it is God who worketh all in all, that our place is to yield to Him in perfect resignation and dependence, in full consent to be and to do nothing of ourselves.

This is the life Christ came to reveal and to impart

How do we do that?

Make it a priority

If we long for this, let us, meantime, above everything, seek the holy secret of the knowledge of the nature of God…

Sirach 14:22-27

22 Go after Wisdom like a hunter looking for game. 23 Look into her windows and listen at her doors. 24 Camp as close to her house as you can get, 25 and you will have a fine place to live. 26-27 Build your home there, safe beneath her protecting branches, and shaded from the heat.

Proverbs 2:2-5

2 Listen to what is wise and try to understand it. 3 Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. 4 Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. 5 If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God.

Ask for God’s help

If we feel that this life is too high for us and beyond our reach, it must but the more urge us to seek it in Him; it is the indwelling Christ who will live in us this life, meek and lowly.

Ask Jesus.

Luke 11:9

9 'So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

Proverbs 2:3

3 Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. *** 5 If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God.

James 1:5

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Look for it

study the humility of Jesus as the very essence of His redemption, as the very blessedness of the life of the Son of God, as the only true relation to the Father, and therefore as that which Jesus must give us if we are to have any part with Him,

Sirach 14:22-23

22 Go after Wisdom like a hunter looking for game. 23 Look into her windows and listen at her doors.

Proverbs 2:4

4 look for it as though for silver, search for it as though for buried treasure,

         We need to go where we are likely to find what we’re looking for

A hunter would go where game is most likely to be common,

A miner would go where silver is likely to be present

A treasure hunter would go where treasure is most likely to be

         We’re looking for examples of Jesus humility

The Gospels tell us the most about Jesus, therefore we should go to them

                  Mark’s gospel gets into it most directly

                  So go there

Homework:  Start reading the Gospel of mark, w/ an eye to seeing how Jesus modeled & taught humility