Beverly's Blurbs: HUMBLE HEARTS

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3

If we have established that poverty of spirit is vital to our happiness and essential to our reigning as kings and heirs with Jesus, then we must determine HOW to cultivate the grace of humility. How is it possible to succeed in this difficult world while seeking to be poor in spirit? How can we cultivate this grace of humility? What steps must we take to have humble hearts?

Let's look briefly at four requirements:
#1 - Cultivating a spirit of humility requires ACCEPTING GOD'S ESTIMATE OF YOURSELF.

When you became a believer, that's basically what you did, isn't it? You accepted God's estimate of yourself. You accepted the fact that God's word said, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and understood that you were included in that important word, "all." You believed the truth that "there is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10) because you saw your own unrighteousness. And you embraced the fact that Jesus said "you must be born again" (John 3:7) and confessed Him as your Savior. Once you accepted God's estimate of yourself, it was easy to accept His remedy for your sins, wasn't it? At that point, you had to humble yourself, and then God lifted you up.

We established earlier this week that true humility means knowing yourself, accepting yourself and being yourself to the glory of God. That means that you accept God's estimate of yourself on the basis of the gifts and the faith God has given you.

When God came to Moses and asked him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses gave God every excuse he could think of. Gideon did the same thing. God called him a "mighty warrior" but Gideon argued that he was the weakest in his family and his family was the smallest clan. Jesus called Simon a "rock." Do you think Simon saw himself that way? Probably not. But when Moses, Gideon and Simon Peter accepted God's estimate and acted on it in faith, they accomplished great things for God. They found their "kingdom" and reigned in life by humbly yielding to God and daring to believe what He said. Every victory they won was the result of their faith in God's Word.

What about you? Do you accept what God says about you? Sadly, most of us don't and that's why we are not living the victorious lives God intends for us.

I'm not sure this picture is big enough for you to read all that it says - but, oh my sweet sisters - it's straight from the Word of God and it tells you that YOU are accepted - YOU are secure - YOU are significant - YOU are free. This is just a glimpse of God's estimate of you. If God says you are accepted and significant, why are you living with all those insecurities? If God says you are significant, why are you still bound by all those "hang-ups"? Why am I??

It's because we are not accepting God's estimate of ourselves. As you read your Bible, notice what God says about you as a child of God. ACCEPT what He says and ACT on it! When Moses, Gideon and Simon Peter argued with the Word of God, it led to defeat. When they accepted the Word and acted on it, the result was victory.

God is not saying to us, "Obey and I will bless you." (though there IS blessing in obedience) Rather, He is saying "I have already blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3) - no draw on this wealth - believe what I say - and REIGN in life!"

The next step to cultivate humility in your life is:
#2 - YIELD YOURSELF TO GOD DAILY

Draw your strength from Him. "Apart from me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

The Word of God taken into your inner person releases power. If you ever expect to reign in life - to live victoriously - you MUST spend time daily in quiet communion with God and carry the power of that experience with you throughout the day.

Don't you just love this picture?? I sure do!! Oh how precious is the word of God to do that very thing - to spring from the pages of our Bibles and wrap its arms around us! The Word of God will transform our minds (Rom.12:2) so that we can have the same attitude Jesus had when He laid aside His glory and came to earth as a servant. (Philippians 2:5-7) None of us were born with the attitude of a servant. We were born with the attitude of a rebel (sin nature). It is only as the Word transforms the mind that we can ever cultivate true humility and poverty of spirit.

#3 - we must FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS

Too many people believe humility comes from studying their own sins and failures, but that's not true. It's not the badness of people that leads to repentance - it's the "goodness of God" (Romans 2:4)! When Isaiah fell to his face and said, "Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips.." (Isa. 6:5) he wasn't looking at himself and his sins. He was looking at the Lord - high and lifted up - with His train filling the temple!

Oh, girls, there's nothing wrong with honest self-examination. We all need that from time to time. But if we would only get our focus off ourselves and fix our eyes on Jesus, we wouldn't have to "strive" to be humble - humility would wash all over us!! The more we contemplate the goodness of God, the lower we sink before His majesty and the more humble we become.

The last thing cultivating a spirit of humility will require of us is

#4 - LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE OTHERS.

Humility and service go together. The proud look for others to serve them - humble people look for ways they can serve others.

Philippians 2:3 "Consider others better than yourselves."

Galatians 5:13 "Serve one another in love."

"Sacrifice and service are the twin children of humility." What a great quote! Often sacrifice and service must go unrewarded. And that's a good thing. If we blow a trumpet to get noticed every time we help somebody, we will only nourish our pride and starve our humility.

We need to quit looking for "big" opportunities "worthy" of our abilities. The great saints of the Bible started as servants, not rulers, and they were faithful over a few things before God made them "kings."