I was in Canada when I went snow skiing with my wife and family, and my wife decided to go to church with me while we were there, even though she hasn't gone to church with me in fifteen years. Mr. Rainer Salomaa, the minister, who is on the Council of Elders , was there. My wife told me, "Those people are really nice, and humble and that minister is really humble." And it made me think, "That's a trait we need to have, humility." It's true, we should be the Church of God that represents humility to God and to people. Then I thought, "There's my sermon title." If you're going to be humble, you need to understand the goodness of God and then you'll learn humility toward God and others. I think it's tremendous how God inspires these messages; whether we know it or not, God is way ahead of us. But I do think the ministry overall is more humble than I've ever seen them in my life and this is my 46th year in the Church. Mr. Darris McNeely came in and gave a seminar, and you wouldn't know he was a member of the Council of Elders. He was really down to earth and he really wants to teach and he really just loves people. I met Mr. Robin Webber right before he became the Council of Elders Chairman and he also was so down to earth. He didn't tell other people to welcome me, he and his wife spent more time welcoming me than anybody else. He said, "Pray for us, we need prayers, we need a lot of help." His attitude wasn't, 'I'm so great.' I thought his attitude was wonderful..and it was right after he became Chairman. I see the humbleness of our Chairman and the ministry and I think it's wonderful; I think it shows God's Spirit working. We need to follow that same example. We need to be the Church of humility toward God and toward people. God has given us a lot and we need to recognize that.

Humility works in the world as well. I remember the last company I worked for(that I retired from), Williams. They did a study of the best CEO's because they were trying to select a new CEO and one of the KEY traits of the best CEO's was humility. You'd think the 'world' wouldn't see that. The best ones weren't "stuck on themselves" and they weren't high drivers( some of the high drivers tend to do crooked things anyway). The best CEO's were humble and people worked hard for them and they were successful because of that. After I gave this sermon in Tulsa, I saw an article in the paper about an NBA great, Kevin Durant from Oklahoma City. It said, "Everybody Loves Kevin Durant." He's an NBA player and NBA players aren't known for humility, but the article says, "Star's humility and integrity make him immensely popular." So the world understands and appreciates humility, even though some aren't like that. It says here," Durant has endeared himself to the masses by being grounded, generous, and of course..great, but "he's kept a stranglehold on our hearts by his unrivaled humility." It talks about him going and giving a million dollars to the Moore tornado victims( it was found out later), and he went down there and visited them. Even this world understands humility, so I think the humble approach God is wanting us to have as a church is going to help reach people. I think it's another masterstroke of God, of his goodness and how He does things. He's always engineering better in us to help us grow and overcome. I think that is just a wonderful thing.

That's what I'm going to talk about today: "humility". We must strive to be a humble people, first to God and then to all mankind. Let's turn to Isaiah 57:15 to set the stage. You probably know what it's going to say, but we need to hear it from God, not from me. Isaiah 57:15 "For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity whose name is holy," I dwell in the high and holy place with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit."" So He dwells with the humble. Humility is something we need to have if we want him to dwell with us; humble to him and humble to people. In fact, this word 'contrite' has a meaning 'very much crushed', 'broken very small', 'broken in spirit', 'cast down'. Webster's Dictionary says," Deeply and humbly sorry for one's sins." The definition of humble is the same. So this is saying God looks to people who are contrite and humble, who look at themselves as merely human beings, but look up to God and God's ways and God's Spirit because that's what really counts. In "Strong's", the Hebrew word for humble is "shaphal", it means low, depressed, cast down, humble of spirit. In Webster's Dictionary it says, "Near to the ground, not high or lofty, not pretentious or magnificent, unpretentious, unassuming. Thinking lowly of one's self, claiming little for oneself; not proud or arrogant or assuming; thinking oneself ill deserving or unworthy when judged by the demands of God; lowly, weak, modest." The synonyms are "demures, down-to-earthiness; humbleness, lowliness, meek." I'll get a little bit more into the 'meek' pretty soon. What God wants from us is to not think more of ourselves than we should, which is about 'that much'. The power of God is us is what matters, that's what He wants; and to give other people credit. Whether someone understands God's way right now or not, someday every person will get the chance to see God. They have the same value and opportunity that we do, everyone does. We're all made in God's image. We have to realize we're all under Satan's wrath if God isn't with us. We need God's Spirit or we'll go the same way so many do. Like God tells the wicked, they are on a slippery slope and so go we if we aren't careful. We need to understand God has the power, He's the One we need to be humble to and to other people. We're not better than other people. There are some things we do better, but some things we don't do as well. That's just the way it is. About the only thing I was every good at was being an engineer, but God has helped me to rise above that. I was a good engineer, but I couldn't speak. I still can't; I'm getting better, though. God's helping me with that; I pray a lot about that so I can get rid of the fear. I became an engineer so I wouldn't have to speak; but God had a different plan, didn't He?

So, we are Christians, children of God and we are to be totally humble and respectful before God; totally obedient to him, realizing our entire substance, our understanding and our lot in life is all due to God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son. We must overcome our sinful human nature by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and with God's Holy Spirit; that's the only way to salvation and eternal life. That's it kind of in a 'nutshell' really, but I'm going to say a little more. I can't just finish the sermon here. Secondarily, we are to be humble and respectful to all human beings, realizing we are no better than anyone else. We are all a part of God's plan to develop a family from weak and base human beings; part of the plan for God to build godly character in each one of us and get rid of our weak, evil human nature. A person is not truly humble unless he is obedient to God, having God's Holy Spirit and truly humble to God first and then humble to all people. You really can't be humble if you're not serving and obeying God. God has to call you and give you his Holy Spirit and you have to accept It, for you to be truly humble. You can be humble with other people, and there are a lot of other people who are; but to be truly humble, you have to humble to God, too and follow his ways and his commandments or you're not truly humble in the way God defines humility. So, it's important to understand that we need that goodness of God in us, we need his Holy Spirit, we need that power. We have to have the humility that serves God and puts Him first. We're to be a humble and faithful church.

Let's turn to Revelation 3, you never know on a second split sermon if you have thirty minutes or an hour and thirty minutes, so I'm always prepared. I may not make the hour plus, but that's alright. Since I'm an engineer, I don't tend to ramble. Let's back up to verse 7 since I have a little time. Revelation 3:7 "To the angel of the Church of Philadelphia write: 'These things who is holy who is true, who has the key of David. He who shuts and no one can open; He who opens and no one can shut.'" (This is talking about Christ). This church is the only one of the seven in Revelation that God doesn't say something against. It makes me think about what's going on now. We have a lot of churches, but we shouldn't be going to the church of our choice, but to the one God chooses, the Church that is following God, that's doing what it says here. This is a humble church, this is a weak church that is only doing things by the power of God. Verse 8; "I know your works. I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it for you have a little strength and have kept my word and have not denied my name" so this is a church that realizes it has a little strength physically, but it has a lot of strength spiritually because of God. Let's go on to verse 10: "Because you have kept my command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of the trial which will come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold I am coming quickly, hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God and he will go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God and I will write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." So He said we need to be a weak church physically, but strong in God's Spirit, following Him and overcoming and persevering. Doing what God says we ought to do, that's what he's talking about. So we need to be humble to the church. You will learn one of several ways: by God's inspiration, by his Holy Spirit, you'll learn by going to church (the Sabbath isn't just to rest). The Sabbath is for us to come to church to learn and that when it comes to the Sabbath we tell God,' I am putting everything behind You, whether it's my job or my family or whatever!" It's hard; I guarantee I put my wife behind God, but it's an easy thing to do, but also a hard thing to do. I love my wife, we've been married forty-six years. But I know that in time things always work out if I always put God first. I try to be balanced about spending time with her and doing the right things with her. Hopefully someday she'll see that; God knows the best time, I have to get out of the way. That's the biggest job I have..I have to be humble with her and God and get out of the way and let God work it out while trying to do what God says I should do as a husband..treating her with love and kindness and respect. God will take care of the rest, He knows what's best for her, I don't. I'm glad God does know, because I really don't; it's obvious sometimes when we get in a few rows ( but not like we used to). We still do a little bit and when the grandkids are with us (they are a lot) the grandkids will be so honest, brutally honest. We were arguing the other day, she said something and I said something, but pretty soon we said, "Oh well, let's go on." And one of the grandkids said, "Wow, you two just got into a little spat and you were over with it and it was nothing. That doesn't happen with my parents." Well as we get older maybe we learn some humility and some respect.

Let's go to Matthew 5, the Beatitudes. When people ask me what Christ taught or what he did, I always turn to Matthew 5,6, and 7, the Beatitudes. Notice what Christ is doing here, He is telling us how to keep the Commandments in the New Covenant, how to keep them in your heart and mind, how He really wants us to keep the Commandments. These are the attitudes of a humble Christian. In Matthew 5:3-9 verse 3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" they are not physically driven, the word in Greek for "poor" is 'ptochos' which means to crouch or lowly. It has a similar meaning as to be lowly or down to earth. These verses 3-9 are a description of a humble Christian. verse 4: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" we mourn for people who don't know or live God's way. We should wish all people had God's Spirit and power and understanding; we look forward to the 'world tomorrow' when all will. It's an humbling thing to understand that we would go the same way as the world if we didn't have God's Spirit. We're no different from other people, in fact I'm probably a lot worse. I'd probably be the biggest Christmas celebrator, I'd have my house covered in lights and have two or three trees probably. I'd give gifts to everybody; I know I would, if it hadn't been that God has called me and let me know it's wrong and I need to change. verse 5: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" , the meek are gentle, if you're humble you'll be gentle..that's a part of being humble. You're not going to be out there 'cracking a whip' on everybody. verse 6: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness", being humble you seek God's way..you seek to be like him. That's the humility you have when you follow the Commandments. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" God is going to fill us with his Spirit, with his comfort and his power. I really felt that when I was in the hospital, probably as much as I ever have in my life. I felt people were praying for me, I felt comfortable, I wasn't afraid. It was one of the most calm times of my life even though I can't remember ever having been in the hospital before then. I think it was because of people's prayers and God's Spirit helping me. I am thankful for that.

verse 7: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy". If you are humble, you have to have mercy, because you understand we're all in the same boat. One of the men you all prayed for, Mr. Tom Taylor because he had to go to court had one man talking about the jury and he said the jurors were trying to appease one another because a couple of them wanted to 'hang' him, but a couple were saying he was innocent. So they came up with a compromise. This man said he had learned that this world is not about justice and mercy because he should have been given mercy and he wasn't. He doesn't have to go to jail, but they said he was guilty. I heard a judge say the court system was compromised. I believe it is compromised. This man who was talking about it said he learned that God is about mercy, but the courts are not about mercy. There's not justice and mercy like there needs to be. In fact that's what Christ told the Pharisees. He told them they tithed and they should, but they shouldn't neglect the weightier matters of the law..justice and mercy. verse 8; "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God", we need a loving heart toward God and people. verse 9: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God"..if you realize we're all in the same boat, you'll want peace. War just doesn't work whether it's in your family or friends, or wherever. War is Satan's way, it's not God's way. God's going to use it to let men know they can't buck against 'Superman', because God is Superman, more than Superman. Christ is going to come back and put down Satan's way and not allow it anymore. He is going to show mankind He is serious, and man will finally realize that God is serious. Then mankind will learn some humility, just as we need to keep learning humility now.

Verses 13-16 "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." verse 14: "You are the light of the world. A city that's set on a hill cannot be hidden." verse 15: "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house." verse 16: "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." So he's saying, you need to show what you believe. It doesn't mean if someone asks you something you 'turn on a fire hydrant'. They want a drink of water, so that's what you give them, not a 'fire hydrant'. Don't stick it down their throats. Live the Christian life, treat people right. If you're humble toward God and people, people will recognize that. They'll see things like with what happened to me. We don't tell people we don't cuss, but we don't. So, when I was at work one day there was a vice-president who cussed in front of me, and she apologized. She said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Mann, I know that your don't cuss." I never had told her. Not cussing is part of humility. This world uses God's name in vain so much and that is not being humble and it's getting worse and worse. They use it for everything; it's terrible also some of the things they call 'holy', things that are not holy. It doesn't mean we are 'wallflowers'; we go about our business while treating people kindly, with humility as a way of life..and people do see it. You don't hide it, but you don't go out advertising your way of life. We're not to be megaphones, but a lamp. I think humble attitudes will help people to come to the church if we are truly humble people. I think it will help the calling of people.

Let's go to Numbers:12:3 "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth" here's a person who was in charge of bringing Israel out of Egypt, probably a couple million people and yet he was humble. Think about that because he grew up as a prince for his first forty years. He had all the riches in the world. For his next forty years, he lived as a shepherd in the desert and he learned about the other side of life. He learned how people tend sheep and interact with one another and how to live off the land. He was humbled during that, he was a lot like me..he didn't want to speak in public. Remember he wanted Aaron to speak for him. That was probably a little bit of insecurity or a little bit of human nature, maybe a lot of it in my case. He still always gave God the credit except for the one mistake he made at the waters of Meribah. He always told Pharaoh that God is who was doing all the miracles. He always went to God to tell him what to tell Israel. He was really humble before God. He wanted to see God, and he got to see him. He wanted to serve people. When God told Moses he'd just wipe out Israel and make a new nation from him, Moses pleaded with God for the people because he loved the people. He reasoned with God and told him the nations would just say God had brought them into the desert and got rid of them. He loved and cared about the people; that's part of humility..being humble and caring for people.

Mr. Johnson mentioned Job earlier. He was the most righteous man on earth at that time but God let Satan attack him. He lost all his family and his goods, but Job was still okay. God let Satan attack him again and got him down to where he was almost dead with boils all over him and in horrible pain. Then Job said he didn't deserve this, he was being pretty self-righteous. His wife got after him and some people say she must have been mean, but not necessarily, she lost everything Job did. She lost all her children and everything else he lost. She was probably blaming him and was upset; I can see how she could be upset. She told Job to curse God and just get it all over with. I don't know if she was converted, but even if you are, you can get upset sometimes. Job learned some hard lessons, but it took a lot. I hope it won't take that much for me to learn some hard lessons. After he lost all his children and possessions, three of his friends turned on him and accused him of everything in the book. Finally one young guy who was really respectful, and probably converted, talked to him and told him the truth and told the other friends that they were wrong, too. Job still didn't understand; it took God to tell him in person. That is about as far as you can go as far as being corrected. We need to learn from what Job went through. We need to learn to study and pray and to respect God the Father and Jesus Christ because they have the ability to do anything we need for them to do but in their time. Accepting God's timing for what is best for our lives is part of humility.

After God talked to Job and told him all the things He could do, how he had made the earth and all things and how he had made all the animals and knew their ways completely, He asked Job where he was when He made the earth and all the angels shouted for joy? He asked Job what he could do. Job was finally becoming humble.

Job 42:1-6

"Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
"I know that Thou canst
do all things,
And that no purpose of
Thine can be
thwarted.
Who is this that hides
counsel without
knowledge?
Therefore I have declared
that which I did not
understand,
Things too wonderful for
me, which I did not
know.
Hear, now, and I will
speak;
I will ask Thee, and do
Thou instruct me.
I have heard of Thee by
the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees
Thee;
Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and
ashes."

Job is now saying he truly sees God for all his goodness and for all He can do for him, and what He has done for everyone and what his plan is. Job realized all of this for the first time in his life and was then deeply converted. (My sermon and Mr. Johnson's go together; he's in St. Joe and I'm in Tulsa, but we work for the same Guy.) It was God's goodness that he needed to understand and that God is always right and that what He does for us is always good. We have to realize that and have faith and trust God and be humble. Then the Lord spoke to Job's three friends: verses 7-9: verse 7: "And it came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. verse 8 "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant, Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. verse 9 "So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job." Verse 10 "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold." God didn't restore Job's fortunes until Job humbled himself and prayed for his friends. This shows we are to love our enemies. Job had the attitude of caring about his friends and wanting God to forgive them and also forgiving them himself. It's a good lesson in how we deal with people, forgive if you want to be forgiven..that's humility.

Jesus Christ, the Creator of man set the ultimate example of humility. He came down not as mankind's ruler at that time but as a lowly human being to serve mankind and to give his life for us all. At the last Passover, He observed on earth with his disciples, He demonstrated his humility by washing their feet. He washed the feet of the beings who only deserve death and then He gave his life for them. You can't get more humble than that..He set the example. One thing that is so good about the Church of God is that we try to follow the example of Jesus Christ, not what people say about him, but following what HE did; keeping the Commandments like He did and loving our neighbor, keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days are part of following his perfect example. It looks like people would keep Passover just like Christ did. It's the spirit of Satan that says you don't have to do that and that it's okay to do it a different way. That's not humility. Humility is doing it the way Christ said to do it (and did it) with the right mind and attitude that Christ said to have. Christ didn't come down and seek a reputation; He didn't come down and say, "I'm God and you do this." He asked the apostles to do things, but He wasn't a dictator. He wasn't taking charge of the world at that time, but He will when He comes back.

Philippians 2:1 -"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any affection and mercy, verse 2 "fulfill my joy by being like-minded having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. verse 3 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but with lowliness of mind let each esteem others as better than themselves." verse 4 "Let each of you look out not only for your own interest but also for the interest of others." verse 5 "Let this mind be in you which is also in Jesus Christ," verse 6 "who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God," verse 7 "but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bond servant, coming in the likeness of men." verse 8 "And being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled himself and became obedient even to the point of death even the death of the cross." verse 9 "Therefore God has also highly exalted him and has given him the name that is above every name. verse 10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven and those on earth, and those under the earth," verse 11 "Let every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father." verse 12 "Therefore, my beloved as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but much more in my absence, therefore work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;" verse 13 "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure;" verse 14 "to do all things without complaining and disputing;" verse 15 "That you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; of whom you shine as lights in the world." That fear should be respect to God. Christ had total obedience to God, even when God left him for a few moments so he'd have to die on his own. He was totally humble to God and to people, He gave his life for each one of us. I used to think if I just didn't complain it was okay, but I've realized, it's the attitude that counts. Don't just hold your complaints in or just not dispute, but don't even think bad about people. Go to God and ask him to help you get rid of the bad thoughts and ask for God to give you more of what you need, more of his Spirit. Live the right life, the humble life of a Christian, serving people, caring for them, having love for them.

Each one of us has gifts that are better than other people's, there's no doubt about that. We may do some things better, but there are things other people do better than we do. I'm always amazed at little elderly ladies who have been around for years, who pray for everybody and send notes to everybody. That really inspires me because they do what they can do, and they do it well. It is a tremendous encouragement for people and we all need that. It is one of the gifts God gives and they are using it. Having to learn to love mankind is one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn. I'm still learning it, but I'm mostly there now. I don't believe I'll get there until I'm a spirit being. When I first came into the church I wondered, "How will I ever love my enemy that does evil to me?" It has taken 46 years, and I'm getting there. God has really beaten me up a few times. I used to have trials that would last three years sometimes, so I've learned to pray and fast harder so it won't take three years to learn something. I used to keep butting my head against the wall; but it's true that you have to go to God and seek his will. Read his scripture, believe it and apply it because God is nothing but good and wants nothing but good for us.

Christ always represented the Father, He said,"If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." He always lived the right way, He always showed respect to the Father and He always showed respect to people. The only ones He really got after were the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were always trying to trick him or cause him trouble; they even tried to kill him but God always took him away(until the time was right). He was always kind to people.

There's another story, another lesson Christ gave us. The mother of the sons of Zebedee wanted Christ to put one of her sons on Christ's right hand and one on his left hand. She wanted them to have power and glory. That wasn't a really humble thing to ask for, but she wanted that for her sons. Matthew 20:25-28 verse 25 "But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and those who are great exercise authority over them," verse 26 "Yet, it shall not be so among you, but whosoever desires to be great among you shall be your servant.'" He told their mother earlier that it wasn't his to give, it's the Father who would decide about this. Christ wouldn't give this to them anyway because they had asked for it. Verse Jesus Christ set the example of being the ultimate servant. verse 27 "Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave; verse 28 "just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life a ransom for many." So, a humble person is one who serves and gives, someone who wants the best for others; someone who truly understands God's way.

Luke 18 shows some more of the attitude of being humbled and debased, not proud and haughty, not thinking we are better than anyone else. This is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. This is such a good parable to learn about humility. Luke 18:9 "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others." verse 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and one a tax collector." verse 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God thank you that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector;"'( he had a pretty good opinion of himself, didn't he?) verse 12 '"I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all I possess,"' verse 13 "But the tax collector standing far off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner'." verse 14 "I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather that the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted." He is saying go to God and realize what we've been given, that pearl of great price. There's no way we could understand this way, be converted, and have God's Spirit unless God called us; we don't call ourselves. We'd be just like the rest of the world without God's calling, we have to realize that. The tax collector realized that he was a sinner, and that if he was going to be forgiven he had to repent. He had to respect God and realize how great God is and humble himself before Him. Once you humble yourself, you need to lift yourself up and look to God, and stand as one who has been called and given God's Spirit; living with humility because that's what God wants. Never forget where you came from.

Luke 14:7-11 verse 7 "And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them," verse 8 "'When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him," verse 9 "' and he who invited you both shall come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place." verse 10 "But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher' then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you," verse 11 "For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."' Jesus instructs people to be humble and not seek the best seats when invited to something no matter what it is. The principle Christ is showing is that the humble will be exalted, but the ones seeking to be exalted will be humbled in the long run. Asaph was talking in Psalms that the wicked seem to get away with what they do, but their time is coming when they will be humbled. Our time to be humbled is now. When God wants someone to be humbled, they will be. It can be hard to see people who seem to get away with so much; I've read about people who are rich and wicked, but most of the time they are very unhappy. I don't know if you remember Mr. Herbert Armstrong talking about J. Paul Getty, one of the richest men in the world at that time. He had five wives, and after the fifth divorce he said he'd get rid of all his money if he could just have a good marriage. That was the answer, but he wouldn't give up all his money. He needed to be humble toward God. His money got between him and his five wives. His son turned out to be a real mess. He was given too much and it ruined his life. We see the facade people put up, but as a general rule people are not happy without God's Spirit. You can't truly be happy and humble without God's Spirit. Don't think people are as happy as they appear to be; people live in a lot of fear. I've worked with people who were vice-presidents and presidents of companies, and let me tell you: they have a lot of insecurities and fear. They're not going to show it to you or tell you, but they do. President Obama has a lot of insecurities and fears; I don't care if he is president or not, everyone does who doesn't have the Spirit of God. King David once said it seemed like the wicked got away with everything, but then he realized they are on a slippery slope. We don't have that slippery slope because God is always there. When it looks like we're about to go over a cliff, God can catch us at any time. He's not going to let us fall, He will take care of us one way or another. We just don't know when He will and the timing is the hardest thing to deal with sometime.

1 Peter 5:1-11 verse 1 "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed," verse 2 "shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; verse 3 "nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock." verse 4 "And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." verse 5 "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." verse 6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time," verse 7 "casting all your anxiety upon him, because He cares for you." verse 8 "Be of sober spirit, be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." verse 9 "But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." Verse 10 "And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself, perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." verse 11 "To him be dominion forever and ever. Amen." Paul is talking here about the elders having an humble and serving attitude towards people and for young people to be submissive to their elders. We are to be humble and submissive to each other. The ministry today does not want to lord it over you, they are your helpers and your shepherds; that's one thing I love about the Church now. I heard one thing about how the ministers in charge of the camps for the kids are in charge even if other ministers or even the president of the church is there. The camp director is still in charge. It's a matter of respect and humility. We are to be submissive to each other and clothed with humility. We experience the same things people in the world do, but we know we have an answer. We know God will hear us if we follow him and do what He says , but sometimes the goodness of God comes through suffering because it perfects us, and establishes us, and settles us. If we don't have God working with us, then we don't build a trusting relationship with him. When He delivers us from trials we build trust and faith in him.

James 4:5-15 verse 5 "Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: 'He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us'?" verse 6 "But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, 'GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.'" verse 7 "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. verse 8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." verse 9 "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. verse 10 "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you." verse 11 "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it." verse 12 "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy, but who are you who judge your neighbor?" verse 13 "Come now , you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.'" verse 14 "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." verse 15 "Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.'" The implication here is that the devil is proud, resist that. The law is about loving people, that's what we need to do. God is saying here to seek his will in everything we do, that doesn't mean to be weird like you hear some people, especially some in Christianity who say every bad thing is God's will.(Ecclesiastes 9:11 Time and chance happens to everyone.) God's will is not for you to be raped and murdered and all kinds of bad things like that. God's will is for you to be converted and to become a son of God and learn his ways in humility and obedience and love.

Colossians 3:12-17 "And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;" verse 13 "bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." verse 14 "And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." verse 15 "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful." verse 16 "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." verse 17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." He is lumping these all together: humility, kindness and mercy, love and tenderness. He says as Christ forgave you, you need to forgive others..that's humility. Realize our state of life without Christ's sacrifice would be nothing. Encourage one another, want the best for one another..that's what this is all about, humility to each other and to God.

In conclusion, I have a few scriptures. I've heard people lately use this scripture a lot with all the things going on in America right now, with all the failings of this country, and how it's just morally going downhill. This is a true saying 2 Chronicles 7:14 "IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY, AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR AND I WILL FORGIVE THEIR SINS AND I WILL HEAL THEIR LAND." This is addressed to Israel, but it applies to anyone (we are spiritual Israel). He doesn't say 'I might hear'; He says, "I WILL HEAR". If we will do this He will heal the Church, He will heal us, His people.

Romans 12:1-3 verse 1 "I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." verse 2 "And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable to the perfect will of God." verse 3 "For I say through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, to not think of himself more highly than he ought, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." So he is talking about not being like the world, which is proud and arrogant overall. There are some humble people, but they're still not humble to God if they don't follow Him. I saw an article from a church newspaper one time (I think from a former association) that said Mother Theresa must be a Christian because she served so many people. She did serve people; she had a big heart..there's nothing wrong with that, but she didn't serve God because she didn't obey the Commandments. She didn't keep the Sabbath or the Passover like God says to do it. She had a physical goodness about her that can't be compared to the goodness of God. That's why we have to be humble to God because his goodness is so far past any human goodness. If she was resurrected in the 'world tomorrow', she'd say, 'I'm doing fine, I've helped all these people.' You have to be humble and obey God, not just serve people. The demons understand who Christ is, but they don't do what He says do. It has to be the goodness of God we look for, not just the goodness of man. I think that's where a lot of people get mixed up; they see a lot of good in people, but it's the goodness of men..not the goodness of God. You have to have both! That's the key.

Paul goes on to tell more about what this means, how to have the humility God wants. Romans 12:9-21 verse 9 "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good." verse 10 "Be kindly affectioned to one another with brotherly love; in honor giving preference to one another" verse 11 "not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;" verse 12 "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayers" ( Every time you turn around it says prayer.) verse 13 "distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. verse 14 "Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse." verse 15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Have compassion on one another, help one another, lift one another up. verse 16 "Be of the same mind toward one another, do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own eyes." Learn wisdom, seeking God's opinion of what's wise. A recent article I really loved that went along with this called, "What Do You Seek?" talks about the young lady who washed Christ's feet with her tears. The man of that house didn't like it, so Christ told a story about the sins of a prostitute and sins of a regular guy. Christ asked who would love more the one who had little that needed to be forgiven or the one who had more that needed to be forgiven. He was teaching the proud man a lesson; the woman was humble because she realized she was a great sinner. She was humble and realized the power Christ had to forgive and to heal. Here are some things he said in this Good News article, I think they are just outstanding. The article says,"I would need to suggest that her eyes came to rest squarely on herself. The power in this story being to help us to recognize our lack of sufficiency apart from the redeeming and restorative work of God the Father through Jesus Christ." Knowing this should make us humble because we are no different from anybody else without that. We are all human beings. The article goes on, "The reality is that God sent his Son to earth not to simply make good men better, but to allow dead men walking to be able to live for the very first time." For us to live righteously, that's what God makes possible.

In Luke 19:10, Luke quoted a saying of Jesus for us all to rest our eyes on. verse 10 "The son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost"; that was us: rescued from ourselves and given worth in him. All of us should see ourselves as needing restoration with God. We should seek to restore others. That's one thing that should keep us humble. Without God's restoration, without God giving his only Son, without the Son giving his life for us, we're all lost, we're all in the same boat. We have been given something wonderful and we need to be humble about that gift. We need to realize that everybody else needs that same gift and to have humility toward them. TRUE HUMILITY MUST BE OUR HALLMARK; the hallmark of true Christians in God's true Church. We must follow Christ's example and truly be humble in all we do toward God the Father and Jesus Christ and toward all mankind. It is a required trait of a true child of God.