GOD’S MEASURE OF OUR HUMILITY
Please open your Bible to Matthew 18 as we continue our series with today’s message, “God’s Measure of our Humility.” As I have said several times, this series is very important. With each passing day, we are drawing closer and closer to the Judgment Seat of Christ, where the Lord will measure our lives not to condemn us, or to shame us, but to reward us with great rewards. On that day, He will search every part of our lives looking for anything good that He can find to reward us, and one of the things that He will most certainly be looking to reward… is our humility.
Matthew 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,
3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. NKJV
THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN...
I want to begin by pointing out there are two versions of greatness in God’s kingdom.
First, in God’s eyes, everyone in His kingdom is considered great. Not because of what we have done, but because trusted in the of the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross. We are great in His kingdom because we He has made us perfect and clothed with His robe of greatness.
Second, in addition to being great, Jesus also said there will be those who are called the greatest in His kingdom. The big question is, how can we become great in God’s kingdom? How can prove we are trustworthy to be rewarded with greater responsivities and privileges in God’s kingdom? That’s what the judgment seat of Christ is all about.
In Matthew 5:12 Jesus said great will be your reward in heaven when you are persecuted for your faith in Him.
In Matthew 5:19 Jesus also said that whosoever teaches and lives by God's commandments will also be called great in God’s kingdom. So, here are 2 things Jesus said would make us greater in His Kingdom.
But in Matthew 18:4, Jesus said… …whoever humbles himself as this little child is (not just great, but) the greatest... in the kingdom of heaven.
Do you see the difference? Humbleness is a direct line to greatness in His kingdom.
He who is humble in spirit, humble in childlike faith to trust God, and love God, is called the greatest in God’s kingdom. Humbleness is very important to God.
THE MEASURE OF HUMBLENESS
What does it mean to be humble? In one of the great paradoxes in the Bible, Jesus said… Matthew 23:11 he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. NKJV
What a paradox! Greatness in God’s kingdom is not measured by earthly power and might,
but by our faithful service to Jesus Christ. The world mocks the idea that being a lowly servant leads to eternal greatness. That’s because the world measures greatness by fame, riches and power. But none of these things will ever bring greatness in God’s kingdom. Jesus said if you truly desire to be the greatest in His kingdom you must choose the heart of a humble servant. You must choose humbleness...
THE FIRST STEP OF HUMBLENESS
The first step of humbleness that leads to eternal greatness is to turn from the ways of the world, and humbly submit yourself to God and His ways. We are to turn from pursuing the corrupt ways of the world, to pursue godly and righteous living. That’s the first step. We must stop thinking like the world and be focused on Jesus Christ. We must stop chasing the American dream and be focused on the eternal dream found only in Jesus Christ.
HUMBLENESS IS NOT…
Humbleness that leads to greatness in God's kingdom is not determined by your position of earthly power and authority, but by serving others in the name of Jesus Christ. Greatness in heaven is NOT determined by our greatness on earth. You can be the greatest and most powerful person on earth, and still have the lowest position in heaven. That’s why only humbleness leads to greatness in God’s kingdom.
The world scorns humility because the attitude of the world is to place yourself above others. That’s not Biblical humbleness; that’s pride and arrogance.
Those who are proud and arrogant are self-centered and self-serving.
Pride and arrogance says I know better than God, which is how most of the world thinks…
Pride will destroy your walk with God, and does not lead to greatness in God’s kingdom.
The Bible says pride is one of the things that God hates most. And right now, the world is immersed in pride. But God says, those who are His humble servants, and remain humble to Him in this sinful and prideful world are very precious to Him, and among the greatest in His kingdom.
HUMBLENESS IS THE KEY TO ETERNAL GREATNESS
The Bible defines humbleness as a submissive attitude that believes God, trusts God and submits to obeying God and His will. Those who are humble, have a heart that is lasered focused on serving God and His will… In speaking of how humbleness leads to greatness, Jesus said…"humble yourself and you will be exalted."
There are a lot of ideas about what this means. Some think it means God exalts us on earth to reach a pinnacle of fame such as being a famous evangelist, or a star Gospel singer, or the pastor of a mega church, and perhaps God does do that sometimes, but that is not how He usually operates. The one thing I pray for you to hear, is that God is not preparing us for a great life here, He is preparing us for a life of greatness in His kingdom. And greatness in His kingdom is built upon the foundation of humbleness.
God’s desire is to make you the very best humble servant possible so He can reward you with
greatness in His kingdom that surpasses anything and everything this world can offer.
But… and this is very important…
He can only exalt you in His kingdom to the level of which you are humble. For example…
Much humbleness, much exaltation… Little humbleness, little exaltation…
No matter how great a person’s abilities may be, their abilities are worthless for eternal greatness unless they are used in humble service for God’s glory and honor.
Humbleness… is the only avenue that leads to eternal greatness. No matter how great you are on earth; no matter how vast is your fame… without humbleness before God you will NOT be great in God’s kingdom. Again… the greatest rewards of heaven are reserved only for those who serve God with a humble heart.
For example... God has given every believer, including you, certain gifts or abilities to be used for His glory and kingdom. How you use those gifts is totally up to you. You are responsible for how you use your God given gifts. If you humbly use your God given gifts to honor God, He will honor you. But if you use your gifts for your own glory, God will not honor you. God gave you gifts so that you could use them to serve Him and to serve the body of Christ so that you can reap great eternal rewards. That’s why God’s desire is for you to be the best humble servant possible, because He knows how great these rewards are.
It took me years to understand how this works in my life.
I would love to sing, but that is not the talent God gave me.
I would love to write, but that is not what God called me to do.
I would love to be a great speaker, but on my best day, I am just average.
That’s ok, because the gift God has given me is the grace to study and teach His word and to encourage Christians to live a godly life. That’s God’s gift for me to use and I desire with all of my heart to use that gift to serve and honor Him. The point is…
Every person here has a special gift the Holy Spirit has given you to use for God’s glory.
However, the problem is, most Christians want to be brain or some part that everybody sees. But the truth is, we can’t all be the eyes, or the hands, or the brain. Some of us have to be humble enough to accept that we are the lesser part of the body, which means someone has to be the little toe.
My point is, I want to be humble enough that if God calls me to be the little toe, then I want God to say, "Mark Hall you were the best little toe I had out there, and because you were humble enough to accept that challenge, I will reward you with great rewards." That’s what’s missing in the church. We are not using our God given gifts… because everyone wants to be the brain. Everyone wants to be in charge and be seen.
Everybody wants to be great in the eyes of the world, but that is not what makes us great in in God’s kingdom. However, on the other side of that, many Christians think that because their talent is small, like the little toe, it’s not worthy of being used. God is not looking at how big your talent is, He is looking at how humble you are to use what He gave you for His glory.
Humbleness is the key… Remember… Greatness in God’s kingdom is reserved only for
those who humble themselves to do what God has called them to do, no matter how small or insignificant the task is. Our goal is NOT to make our name great, but to be humble and make His name great! Again, without humbleness before God you will NOT be great in God’s kingdom. That’s why humbleness is the key to eternal greatness.
AN EXAMPLE OF HUMBLENESS
A beautiful example of humbleness that leads to greatness is found in the story of King Josiah, who was possibly one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history. When Josiah became king, Judah was flooded with terrible idolatry. By every right he should have followed his father’s footsteps of sin and idolatry. But Josiah humbled his heart and God used his humbleness to bring a great revival to Judah.
While repairing the temple, God’s book of law was discovered. When Josiah heard God’s word, he tore his robe in great fear, and had the priest to inquire of God what was going to happen. God said He was going to bring great judgment and calamity on Judah. But… God told Josiah that his eyes would never see this terrible calamity, because…
2 Kings 22:19 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord...
Because of his humbleness, God preserved Josiah from the coming judgment and exalted him to be one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history. Listen to how the Bible describes him…
2 Kings 23:25 Now before him (Josiah) there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with
all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him. NKJV
That's about as high as you can go in receiving praise from God. God exalted Josiah because he chose to be humble. Let's look at this from another point of view.
King Uzziah was another great king of Judah who also did what was right in God's eyes.
He was a humble king and a great hero to his generation. God honored him by making him an awesome warrior whose fame spread across the known world, all the way to Egypt. But, very sadly, Uzziah became full of pride and believed that his greatness was due to his own abilities. Instead of remaining humble, he exalted himself.
In the temple, only the priest could burn incense before the Lord. However, Uzziah decided that since he was such a mighty king, he could burn the incense himself without the priest. The priest tried to stop him, but he refused to listen. As a result, God humbled Uzziah with the dreaded disease of leprosy, and King Uzziah was forced to live as a leper for the rest of his life. When you measure your life for eternity, be humble, and remain humble before God, because humbleness before God is the only way to eternal greatness.
HUMBLY GIVE ALL THE GLORY TO GOD
Very quickly, there are two vital points about being humble that you must understand.
First, true humility gives God all the glory and credit. In our society, the sad truth is, we desire the praise of men, more than the praise of God.
John 12:43 they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. NKJV
That truly describes what the church looks like today. It is amazing how Christians get upset when they are not recognized for every little thing they did, because they are more interested in their personal glory, and the praise of men, rather than being humble and glorifying God. Do not let that be you. Be humble and give God all the glory.
If you get overlooked, or you don’t get a thank you, humble yourself and give God glory because He sees your humble work and He will reward you for it. Which would you rather have, praise from men that last less than 3 seconds, or praise from God and the billions of saints of heaven that will last forever?
Second, in being humble, we must decrease, so that Jesus Christ may increase. There is a whole sermon here we don’t have time for, but John the Baptist humbly proclaimed...
John 3:30 He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.
In God’s kingdom, the truly great person is the humble person who refuses to touch God’s glory, and humbles themselves to lift up God’s name, above all other names.
That’s humbleness… and that’s what God is looking for…
IN CLOSING...
Jesus said it is the humble who will be called the greatest in His kingdom.
If you truly desire to be great in God’s kingdom, you must be humble. Do not measure your greatness by your position, by your reputation, or by the praise you receive from others, but by your humbleness to honor God and obey His will.
It is God’s great desire that we serve Him as a humble people, and live humble lives that honor Him.
In Jesus Name…
Humble yourself by putting God and others before yourself.
Humble yourself to give God all the glory and do His will, no matter how small it is…
Humble yourself so that you can be among the greatest in God's kingdom…
Humbleness is one of life’s greatest decisions, and only you can make that decision.
Very soon, at His judgment seat, the Lord will measure our humbleness and the deeper your humility, the greater you will be in His kingdom.
Remember… when you humble yourself and honor the Lord, Jesus says He will personally exalt you by acknowledging you before God, and all the angels in heaven.
Let today, be that day…
In Jesus Name, I encourage you to repent, and humble yourself before God, because a humble heart is very precious in God's sight.
