PERMANENT HUMILITY
(week 14/16)
OLUBI JOHNSON
Philippians 2:5-8 AMP: Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] (6) Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, (7) But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. (8) And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross!
Matthew 26:39 KJV: And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Humility is submitting to the will of God WHEN you don’t feel like it: when doing so makes you lower than what you think or know you are!
The Lord Jesus exemplifies this humility: The second Person of the God-head SUBMITTING to the will of (the other two Persons of the God-head) God that made Him lower than Who He was and made Him suffer (TEMPORARILY!) the death of the cross to save us!
God wants us, like the Lord Jesus, to be willing to submit to His will for our lives even when it makes us lower than what we are and makes us suffer some pain or inconvenience (TEMPORARILY!) so that the will of God may be done.
Furthermore, God wants this attitude of humility to be PERMANENT in our hearts as shown in
Psalms 112:7-8 KJV: He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. (8) His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
God wants our hearts to be FIXED AND ESTABLISHED IN HUMILITY!
Why?
So that:
1. There will be a PERMANENT flow of God’s grace and mercy IN SUFFICIENT MEASURE to us, so giving us a PERMANENT access to the power of the Spirit without measure!
2. Our hearts will NOT BE LIFTED UP IN PRIDE when we are made strong with this PERMANENT access to the power of the Spirit without measure.
Many times, when God has made men strong and powerful, their hearts get lifted up in pride, like Uzziah in
2Chronicles 26:3-6, 7 KJV: Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. (4) And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. (5) And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. (7) And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims.
2Chronicles 26:16 KJV: But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
This same thing happened to Lucifer who became Satan the devil:
Ezekiel 28:17 KJV: Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
To ensure that this will not happen to us, God allows us to be attacked by Satan to break our pride by causing weaknesses and pains, which will cause us to trust God more frequently and deeply, to receive GREATER AND GREATER measures of the life and power of God that will GRADUALLY bring our hearts to a condition of PERMANENT HUMILITY.
Leviticus 26:19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
Proverbs 15:13 NKJV: A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.
Proverbs 20:30 KJV: The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
Ecclsiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made whole.
2Corinthians 7:10 AMP: For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].
This is why God allowed the messenger of Satan to buffet Paul:
2Corinthians 12:7-10 Therefore, to keep me from becoming overly proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from the Adversary to pound away at me, so that I wouldn’t grow conceited. (8) Three times I begged the Lord to take this thing away from me; (9) but he told me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in weakness.” Therefore, I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order that the Messiah’s power will rest upon me. (10) Yes, I am well pleased with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties endured on behalf of the Messiah; for it is when I am weak that I am strong.
Also this is why God allowed Joseph to stay an extra 2 years in prison: to finish the work of permanent humility in his heart. So no matter how strong and prosperous Joseph became, he REMAINED HUMBLE!
Genesis 50:15-21 KJV: And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil that we did unto him. (16) And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, (17) So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. (18) And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. (19) And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? (20) But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. (21) Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
