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Exalting Not Ourselves
Scripture Passage:
Matthew 23:11-12 Attached audio files:
Introduction: The 4H principle:
- Haughtiness leads to Humiliation: Proverbs 16:18Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
See All... – Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. - Humility leads to Honor: 1 Peter 5:6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
See All... – Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
- PRESUMPTION
- Trusting in his Power to Stand (1 Corinthians 10:12Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
See All...) - Justifying Self Before Men (Luke 16:15And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
See All...) - Solution: No Confidence in the Flesh (Philippians 3:3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
See All...) - PRIDE
- Thinking Highly of Yourself (Romans 12:3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
See All...) - Wise in Your Own Conceits (Proverbs 26:12Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
See All...) - Solution: I Must Decrease (John 3:30He must increase, but I must decrease.
See All...) - PRETENSE
- Striving to be Seen of Men (Matthew 23:5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
See All...) - Claiming the Perks of Importance (Matthew 23:6-10 [6] And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
[7] And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
[8] But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
[9] And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
[10] Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
See All...) - Solution: Sit in the Lowest Room (Luke 14:7-11 [7] And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
[8] When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;
[9] And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
[10] But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
[11] For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
See All...) - AMBITION
- Seeking Great Things for Yourself (Jeremiah 45:5And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
See All...) - Loving to have the Preeminence (3 John 1:9I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
See All...) - Solution: Be the Servant of Others (Matthew 20:25-28 [25] But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
[26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
[27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
[28] Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
See All...)
Conclusion: I Expect God Will – In the early 1800’s, Robert Morrison served as an early English missionary to China. He ostensively worked in Canton as a mercantile clerk and interpreter while translating the Bible into Chinese—a work that would certainly have brought death to himself and his Chinese helpers had the real nature of his work been discovered. In 1807, Morrison had been in Boston arranging passage for China since the East India Company had refused to take any missionaries to the Orient. When the owner of the ship on which he set sail discovered his purpose, he commented, “And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect to make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese empire.” To which he replied, “No, sir; I expect God will.” –from To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson by Courtney Anderson (p.52-53).