Don’t you love Him?  Aren’t you thankful for His free gift?  Aren’t you thankful that someday down the road here you’re going to be hated for His name; and people will begin to speak all manner of evil against you?  You’re going to be misunderstood and be hated.  Even those of your own household will look to have you killed.  “Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far.”  Humility treasures that position.  I’m not talking about some of the martyrs of old like Ignatius who sought martyrdom.  I’m not promoting any type of ascetic thought or lifestyle.  I’m talking about living a daily, obedient life that Jesus lived before men.  Because they hated Him, they are going to hate us.  Humility realizes that.  Humility comes when you hear the voice of God speak as He did to Samuel and say, “Samuel, it’s not about you.  They hate Me.  They don’t want Me to rule over them.”  When we come to that place of humility to realize that it’s not about us, it causes us to be able to embrace these other situations more easily.

Let’s look at the life of David for just a moment.  He was a man after God’s own heart, the Scripture tells us; amen?  What is it that made him a man after God’s own heart?  Many will say that David was called a man after God’s own heart because he learned and knew how to repent.  Well, repentance is birthed in humility, right? What is repentance?  I’ve been wrong and I want to repent and go another direction and be right.  So, before there is repentance, there has to be humility.  We have to say, “I’m wrong,” Can I ask you something?  How easy it for you to say, “I’m wrong”?  How easy is it for you say, “Forgive me”?  Is it a struggle?  Are you having to take at those moments that old man by the throat and at that very moment wrestle him down again to finally be able to get those words out of your mouth?  It should be more easily done than that.  It should be natural fruit from abiding in the vine.  There is no effort to produce the fruit of the Spirit when we’re abiding in the vine.  The branches are only the conduit of producing the fruit.  We are the conduit, God is the source; amen?  If it is Christ that lives in me, this life that I am now living by faith, hope, trust, confidence in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me, if I have no reputation to protect—you know, your reputation is all that has been created by yourself. 

Can I share with you that most people don’t think you’re as cool as you think you are?  Most people don’t stand in awe of your wisdom, and might, and strength, and success.  You know, how you see yourself.  Let’s spend some good time in the mirror so that we don’t forget what manner of man we are.  I want you to know that every one of us started out in depravity.  We all started equal: depraved.  Nothing in us of worth to God and, “while we were yet sinners, He loved us and died for us.”  You didn’t seek Him, He sought you.  To this very day, every time you rise to pray, every time you go to the Word of God, whether it’s with great excitement or whether it’s out of obedience and sheer choice and decision, it is God who is calling you to Himself; amen?  The humble man knows that.  Because of that, we never pray thinking that God owes us anything.  If we’re humble, then we’re never disappointed with the portion that God gives us in answer to our prayers.  “God didn’t answer sufficiently.”  “I didn’t get all that I was believing for or hoping for.”  You mean you didn’t get what you deserve?  Then you ought to really praise Him; amen?  What you deserve is damnation, that is what you’ve earned.