05 Jesus Style: Humble (Humility Part II)

Let us recap last week's message about Christ's humble life and death:

Jesus - AKA Joshua, born in a barn, questionable parents, spotty ancestry, common name, misdirected announcement, unattractive looks, reared in a bad neighborhood, poor and owning nothing, surrounding himself with shady people and dying a shameful death.

Scripture 1

John 3:21 - Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he had done has be done through God.

Observe/Interpret

1.     Did Jesus ever try to hide who he was or where he came from even when it wasn’t something to be proud of or did he live by the truth and shine a light on every aspect of his life?

2.     Living by the truth of who we are is walking in the light and allowing that light to show everything about us and not hide anything.

3.     Living by the truth is not just being honest about who we are with others but being honest about who we are with ourselves and with God.

4.     That is a scary thought WHY? It makes us vulnerable.

5.     But if we are living in the light and living for Jesus then everyone will see that too and it will overpower anything bad that we do.

6.     But if we lie about the bad things then we lose credibility when we do tell the truth.

7.     Humility is simply seeing ourselves as we actually are, not higher nor lower

Scripture 2 - Jesus is called to the home of Lazarus by Martha and Mary. Lazarus has died and is surrounded by family friends including his two sisters. Everyone gathered is mourning his death.

John 11:35 - Jesus wept.

 Geoff’s Story:

1.     At an early age if I would get hurt and cry I was made fun of by my older siblings and friends.

2.     Many times I never went to the hospital when I should have because I wanted to be tough.

3.     I was never taught to process how I feel so when my feelings get overwhelming I ignore them instead of dealing with them.

4.     All of these things have caused me to have a difficult time communicating with others and medical problems that could have possibly been avoided.

Observe/Interpret

1.     Here we have Jesus, a grown man, weeping.

2.     In contrast to cultural influences this is one of many occasions where Jesus showed his emotions without shame.

3.     He also openly expressed his anger, joy, grief, fear and compassions that moved him.

4.     Jesus spent no energy covering his life with a mask.

5.     Humility permits us to own our feels and to admit them.

Scripture 3 - Jesus

1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin.

1.     Have ever had a friend who consistently lies to you or other people? Could you trust what they were telling you? How difficult was it to be their friend?

2.     Jesus asks that we walk in the light just like Him.

3.     Just like we must be honest with our relationships with others He cannot be friends with us if we choose to lie to him or hide things from him.

4.     He cannot forgive our sins if we hide them from us. We must be honest about our sins and allow Jesus to forgive us.

5.     Humility is choosing to be real, to hide nothing and to be open.

APPLY

1.     Humility can be described as an "honesty & openness" principal. It would be difficult to do much teaching by example without humility or the willingness to be honestly seen by others.

a.      What is the image you try to uphold to others?

b.     What are the ways you go about upholding that image?

c.      How expensive and time consuming is it?

d.     How accurate is the image you want to portray?

2.     John 3:23 tells us to live by the truth and come into the light and 1 John 1:7 if we walk in the light and be honest with God about our sins we will be forgiven.

a.      In what areas have you been honest with God about your sin which have now changed for the better in your life.

3.     The right to privacy is constitutionally guaranteed in the United States. This is great for our society but has some real pitfalls in the body of Christ.

a.      What things about yourself do you not want your Christian friends to know?

b.     Take some time now to confess these things to the Lord and, if you can, share them with a trusted friend so that friend can pray for you.

c.      Also whatever fears of self-disclosure you have, ask the Lord to express his Grace to you and remove those fears.