“If we’re going to be great,” Matthew 18 says, “if we’re going to be great in the kingdom, we must humble ourselves as a little child” (verse 4).  It’s pretty hard when you’ve lived and had experiences and you’ve prepared yourself to be able to walk in this world and be successful—even in our Christian pursuits—the diligence, the choices that we’ve made to hear that voice of the Holy Spirit and put forth that effort that Paul spoke of there in Philippians 3:14, that heart’s desire to apprehend that for which we’ve been apprehended.  “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Somehow, we see that as an ambition and we need to see it as fruition of abiding in Christ.  It’s not ambition; it’s fruition.  It’s the nature of Jesus flowing through us.  There’s no effort involved in it as the Holy Spirit begins to work that character in us.  “Letting this mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).  Oh, that we would take on that form of servant. 

But in John, Chapter 13, verse 5.  I think we need to do a little more “feet washing.”  I’m not talking about literally.  There are certain Pentecostal churches that actually have foot washing as an ordinance—it’s an outward sign.  But to me, it’s a manifestation.  If you make it an ordinance, it’s just the opposite, it becomes a showing of self.  “Let me show you how humble I am.  I would love you to see my humility.”  We don’t do things to prove we’re humble.  Our choosing humility can many times become a work.  Humility is a natural consequence of Jesus’ lordship in our life, a continual revelation of the Holy Spirit speaking to us, “This is the way, walk in it.”  Humility is a choice, because the will is always involved, but true humility is a choice to put down the old man, the natural man, the sinful man, the lustful man, the ambitious man and choose obedience to His lordship.  That obedience—and we’ll see it here again as we talked about it Wednesday in James—that humility can exalt you.  Amen?  Humility doesn’t keep you down.  Humility is the proper exaltation with God getting all the glory, that the glory and the excellency would be of Him and not of us; amen?

Too many people think that humility is always going to cause us to be less.  Humility will always make you more in the kingdom realm, praise God.  “Learn of me,” He said (Matthew 11:28).  “I want you to learn of Me.”  Look at that eleventh chapter, and when we see this admonition that’s being given to us, that admonition—He said, “Come unto me, verse 28, all ye that labour and are heavy laden…”  “All of you that are just worn out, trying to do good for Me, trying to prove your righteousness…”  Sadly, some of us are doing it to be seen of men.  Oh, let’s not think we’re too spiritual for that to be here in our midst.  Amen?  The loss of power, the loss of authority over principalities and powers, was because of the fact that they stood around discussing which of them was the greatest.  When the rejoicing—remember, they came back rejoicing that the devils were subject to them; amen?  Now, here they are discussing as to who the greatest was among them, now having not been able to cast out a devil, they’re having reflection back on this case, and it’s revealed the thing that caused them to lose that power was thinking that they were the source of that power or that they were special because they were used of God in those gifts, when before we see them coming back humbly and saying, “Man, we can’t believe that Your grace was there and that we were able to be used for Your glory.”  Rejoicing that they had been able to be used, now they’re boasting in who among them was the greatest.