Sermon – “Only True Humility Pleases the Lord”

Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. 2 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 4 But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. 5 Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” 6 And they could not answer Him regarding these things. 7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great; 7 For it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Are we desperate for God man if that’s long doesn’t touch your heart and move you. Nothing will. ARE WE ARE WE desperate for God today to we allow his spirit to move us to shake us because we are so lost without him so lost without him I can say today he’s desperate for you. He’s desperate for a relationship with you he was so desperate for a relationship with us that he sent his son. That’s all desperate God is for RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU are we likewise desperate for him now pray that we are. I meant only true humility pleases God only true. A true humble heart who truly please God in this. Displeasing in the sight of scripture today comes from Luke Chapter fourteen. It was only going to be part of the chapter but I added. While that’s still not the whole chapter but I had some verses. Luke fourteen one through fourteen here the word of the Lord. Now would happen as they went into the house of one of the rulers of the fair seas to eat bread on the Sabbath that they watched him closely and behold there was a certain man before him who had dropsy and Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and fair city saying is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath. But they kept silent and he took him and healed him and let him go. Then he answered them saying which of you have any don’t you are an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day emphasis is immediately they won’t wait till after the Sabbath immediately if they see their ox or the donkey in a pit they will go pull him out and rescue him. And they could not answer him regarding these things so he told a parable to those who were invited when he noted how they chose the best places saying to them when you’re invited by anyone to a wedding feast do not sit down in the best places. Lest one more honorable then you be invited by him and he who invited you in him come and say to you give place to this man and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place but when you are invited go and sit down in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you friend go up higher then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the plate table with you. For whoever exults in self will be humbled. But that sink in whoever exults himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted that he also said to him who invited him when you give a dinner or a supper do not ask your friends your brothers your relatives nor your rich neighbors lest they also invite you back and you be repaid. But when you give a feast invite the poor the main the lame the blind and you will be blessed because you because they cannot repay you for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just may guy add his blessings to the hearing and reading of His Holy Word. Let us pray Father God we do thank you so much for your presence in our lives and words we were talking this morning in Sabbath school that the church the people is your dwelling place that we are your temple the temple of your Holy Spirit and Father God may your spirit be present today in each and every one of us. God may our hearts and our minds and our guts be open for what you have forced today. We know that we feel things in our gut sometimes and we say we feel the Lord speaking nor speak to us today through your annoying. To your power and God just just pray that we would be faithful. God help us to humble ourselves and seek your face with all of our being with all that we have within us fall or in May We glorify you in Jesus name Amen. Our passage begins today with Jesus going into a house of one of the rulers of the fair sees to dine with them to have a meal with them you know this is not an unusual Curry Kerns because Sabbath day hospitality was a very important part of Jewish life. Jesus would would often be invited for a meal after the synagogue service was over you know fellowship meals or a wonderful time it is it’s a good that we all who likes fellowship meals every hand went up. Well if the kids they weren’t paying attention. Kids do you like polish it males and they don’t know. But we all like fellowship meals but you know it’s more than just a meal it’s a time to sit down together to talk with one another to get to know one another and just you know to to communicate. It’s more than just about eating it’s a time to communicate. We enjoy you know meal time should be a special time in every home. I’m not talking about just the church when we have our fellowship meals in the home meal times should be a special time militia meal time should be a time and or. Believe that it would be that way all across America were families come together every evening. They sit down at that dinner table and that’s a time that we’re going to turn the T.V. off. We’re going to turn the cell phones off take the ear of things out of your ears kids and listen it’s a time we’re going to set there and talk and communicate how was your day. Hey what if you learn has the Lord spoke to you today. It should be a special time every day meal time dinner time shouldn’t be that way. Should be my wife’s head I’m not always faithful to be there meal time. Sometimes I’m busy working but that’s the way it ought to be mealtime should be a special time to communicate and to talk and we leave here today she’s going to say you need to practice what you preach. But you know. Jesus was invited for a meal. Sometimes when Jesus was invited for a meal. It was genuine it was genuine because if people wanted to hear more about the Kingdom of God They wanted to hear more about what Jesus was teaching because they had never heard anybody teach like Jesus. They never heard anybody teach with such authority but it other times as in our passage today they were looking for something to criticize Jesus for they were looking for something with which they could condemn him for so it wasn’t always with sincere T.. Can you imagine trying to trick Jesus. I mean that’s what they hadn’t in their hearts they were trying to trick him. They were trying to catch him in something. It’s impossible because John two twenty four says. But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men he knows all man he knows the heart he knows the what drives you in your heart. What’s the driving force behind your actions he knows it. You can’t hide it from him he knew their hearts he knew that they were up to no good these guys were so cannot Having that they even invited a man with dropsy a sickness dropsy is a disease we’re fluid builds up in the tissues of the body. Due to kidney or liver problems or even heart ailments. So they invited this man and were they putting right in front of Jesus because the word said rate before him before him. They knew Jesus well enough to know that he couldn’t set there and do nothing. Didn’t they they knew that he couldn’t sit there before that man and just not have any compassion on him then they would have judged him for being compassionate less so they were going to condemn him one way or another and then there’s another question do you think they would have invited this man if it were not to use him for a trap. No no they wouldn’t invite it being of course not they sure weren’t going to healing. They haven’t healed anybody. It was all for a trap. But Jesus quickly turned the tables on him didn’t it on them didn’t he with his questions questions we talked about that in Sabbath score so good Jesus answering spoke to the lawyers in Fair see say is it lawful to heal on Sabbath church is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Yes it is it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. They couldn’t answer that simple question. Yes it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. They kept silent then he asked him the second question which if you haven’t a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately poor him out on the Sabbath day and again they kept silent these legal list of hypocrites that were claiming to defend God’s Law All were actually denying God the nine God’s goodness denying his mercy and they were abusing people. Jesus revealed the truth of their heart that they were more concerned about an ox or a donkey then a not a human being. He knew the truth he knew that from what they’ve done in the past that they would go out and poor Knox out of the pit. He knew that he revealed their hearts more concerned about an animal than a human being not that we’re not to be concerned about animals but we’re to have compassion all men to the second half of our passage deals with humility and let’s face it. Nobody likes to be unpopular. Nobody wants to be the one that people dislike We all like to be noticed. We all like to have that pat on the back. You’ve done a good job. Boy that looks good you did good you did a good job you did good job teaching you did a good job bill and you did a good job whatever. This is the natural thing to want to be noticed and to be acknowledged as being successful were popular or doing something well we are to esteem others build others up right. That’s what we’re supposed to do but the question is are we seeking to honor ourselves or are we seeking to honor him. Are we given him the glory. Are we seeking the seat closest to the host those that were invited to the dinner sought to seek that seat closest to the host what’s our motives. What is our motives. Is that acquiring a certain reputation. Instead of seeking to be a man or woman of character. There were people that were invited to that dinner. That would go and see. These upper seats the best seats that may not have been deserving of it but they knew that the closer you set to the host the better your reputation would know because that’s the way they would see people here who were highly esteemed would be closest to the host and those that were less esteem would be farther away. I don’t know how big that table was it might have been a huge table. But everybody wanted the best seat. But listen to Jesus’ advice seek the lower seat don’t seek to steam yourself or on yourself but humble yourself that others esteem you. Or build you up. Albert Einstein said try not to become a man of excess of success but try to become a man of value. Man or woman of value our reputation before others is not the most important thing you know I could be known as a brilliant man I I could be known as a brilliant preacher a brilliant carbon or a brilliant whatever by many people in the world but guess what that’s not going to get me in is it my brilliance or monor here is not going to get me to heaven our reputation here is not going to get us into heaven our reputation before others my reputation before you is not what gets me into heaven. It’s what God thinks because I won’t be judged by you I’ll be judged by God by the living God and God knows the heart he knows the man First Samuel sixteen verse seven says but the Lord said to Samuel Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused him for the Lord does not see as man see us for man looks at the hour. Appearance but the Lord looks at the heart the Lord looks at the heart were your heart is it humble that we seek attention. Do we seek on or do we seek to move up the social ladder by receiving glory from others as I said sometimes it’s undeserved sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know it’s where you sit that you might be honored and it might not be deserved true honor honor that is deserved and genuine is through humility. Ruth harm call can does a masterful job on the subject of humility in a poem called I wonder. It says you know how I serve you with great emotional for in the limelight. You know how eagerly I speak for you with a woman’s club. You know how Jen my genuine enthusiasm at Bible study. But how would I react I wonder if you pointed to a basin of water and asked me to watch the callous feet of a bent and rekindle wrinkled old woman day after day month after month and a room where nobody saw and nobody knew about death. How would YOU react if God told you to do this thing in a place where nobody else saw it. Nobody knew what you were doing. You were not going to receive one speck of honor or glory forward. Lord how would I react faithfully Matthew six one through four says Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before. Meant to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. It doesn’t say that you won’t have as much reward you will have no reward from your Father in heaven if all your charitable deeds are done just to be seen by other men because if you’re doing it just to be seen by other men your heart is not pure your heart is not in the right place. You’re not doing what is pleasing to God do it in the hidden place that the one that matters C.S. and that one that matters is God first who says Therefore when you do a charitable do you do not sound the trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and industries that they may have glory from men but surely I say to you they have their reward but when you do a charitable be do do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your charitable deed may be in secret and your Father who sees in secret will himself reward you openly may all we do be that the father may see it that he might reward us because his is his reward is greater than anything will receive on this earth because his reward has eternal value eternal hope to turn a life any reward we might receive on this earth is very temporal and will not last Proverbs twenty five six and seven says Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the King and do not stand in the place of the great. For it is better that he say to you come up here then that you should be putting put lower in the presence of the prince whom your eyes have seen that sound very similar to the parable that Jesus taught the rulers doesn’t go to the lower place. Here’s a list of the kind of. Man you could say men and women that God is looking for the ten most wanted man the man who puts God’s business above any other business. The man who brings his children to church rather than sending them. The man who’s willing to be the right example to every boy he meets women to the right to all the girls you meet the man who thinks more of his have a school class than a Saturday afternoon nap. The man who majors his giving by what he has left rather than by the amount that he gives the man who goes to church for God’s sake rather than for him self or someone else. The man who has who has a willing mind ready to serve rather than he bring it mind full of excuses. The man who has a passion to help rather than a passion to be helped the man who can see is faults more than the faults of others. The man who is more concerned about winning others for Christ the it than he is about winning worldly honor the number nine there. How quick we are often the Point out the faults of others. Why ignoring that plank in our own eye are we let’s look at our own faults before we look at others. We are living in a what’s in it for me society today. It’s everywhere you look we the church need to be different. We need to be different than the world. We can’t be the what’s in it for me we can’t fall into that same mentality of what’s in it for me we can’t fall into that trap the devil wants to make think make you think you deserve the honor and glory and all that right now in the reward now he wants to get your eyes off of that eternal reward. He wants you to think that you deserve it. You deserve to have it your way you deserve to have this or that. But don’t believe the lies of the devil. Humble yourself. It’s not what you receive but it’s what you give and give humility. Possy said that the praise from others a secondary to the praise from God In the end at the final judgment the praise of God is all that matters. Amen to that. That is all that matters when we come to the end of the law end of this life. The praise of God is All That Matters friends. Calvin Coolidge said that no person was ever honored for what he received on or has been given on or has been the reward for what he gave not what he received but what he gave Soames twenty five nine says he leads a humble one what is right and teaches the humble his way. He leads the humble in what is right and he teaches the humble his way. We’ve got to look at the opposite of that the pride the proud not the pride the proud is going to teach the proud his way they are going to listen. So we have to be humble if we expect to learn God’s way. If we want to be useful in God’s kingdom. If we want to be used by God we must first be humble because he can’t teach us if we’re not we must humble ourselves before him some of his great songs one forty nine four for the Lord takes pleasure in his people he adorns the humble with salvation. Amen. That’s the reward he adorns the humble with salvation. If you humble yourself before God I guarantee you. Will receive your reward it might not be in this lifetime but do you Dorn’s them with salvation that humble themselves. You will be adorned with salvation if you are humble before God I am not lie that is his word he adorns the humble with salvation and then a Philip Ians two verses three and four let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in Lolita’s of mind that each esteem others better than himself that each of you look out not only for his own interest but also for the interest of others. I found one last story to share C.S. current all points out that the principles of selfishness selfishly advancing the cause of another was exemplified by Edmund Halley in his relationship to Isaac Newton Haley the man who predicted the return of the comet that now bears his name recognise the importance of Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity. He challenges him to perfect his original idea and corrected some of his mathematical equations Halley then urged Newton to put his ideas in a book form the work mathematical principles of natural philosophy made Newton famous what few people know is that Haley edited and supervise its publication and even financed its printing the Newton could more easily have afforded it. Historians today called Hailey’s actions one of the most selfless examples in record and record modern science. This attitude of Genyen who genuine humility should mark our relationship to Jesus calling no attention to ourselves we must focus the spotlight on him. Would we be. I Kaley allow someone else to get the glory allow someone else to receive the honor. When we know that we had a big hand in it would we be that selfless. We need to be we need to humble ourselves before God you know and there could be a false humility Well I’m going to go seek that Lois place at the table so that they’ll come and get me take me to the higher place and was said the beginning God knows the heart. God knows our heart. You can’t trick God with false humility sorts our hearts Oh God let that be your prayers Create in me a right heart create a me a pure heart Create in me a humble heart Father verbs anything in me that any any pride any arrogance anything that would want to myself Lord remove it that that be our prayer today. Amen.