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Frodo the main character carries a ring with him, one he must destroy. But the ring tempts him to put it on, to take control. It symbolizes our struggle against ourselves. The desire to be our own god vs. letting God be God. In a way, we all carry this same ring with us, the temptation to pride, the temptation to want to run our own lives.
We like Frodo, must carry the ring with us, resisting it’s temptations, until one day it can be destroyed. For Frodo he seeks to cast the ring into mount doom, for us, the temptation will at last end when we reach heaven safely.
I love how Frodo’s friends all go to great lengths to protect him, guard him, keep him safe, and then even to let him go on his own, all to protect him, so he can do what needs to do, destroy the ring. Similarly, we all need each other in our battle against pride, against ourselves, to win the victory. We need each other.
Today we’re addressing the topic of Humility, and how God takes us from pride to humility.
And for most of us we stand on the other side of that story. We’ve been humbled by God, we’ve been trained in the ways of God, and it brought us to salvation, the state we stand in now. But pride can still affect us after becoming a believer.
Pride, if we allow it to slip in, can begin to draw us away from God. Pride in self. Pride in our own abilities. Or we can begin to feel prideful in our religious activities, or our own preferences and ideas. Pride is a deadly enemy to the Christian life.
On the healing journey, pride will prevent healing.
In the recovery community, people will often share that they feel like an ego-maniac with an inferiority complex. I had a close friend in my twenties who seemed to bounce between these two extremes, he felt deeply insecure much of the time, but to protect himself he had created a barrier of pride and ego.
Sometimes, to protect ourselves from the deep hurts we’ve experienced, we allow self-pride to feed our ego. It gives us a positive feeling, but it never resolves the underlying trauma.
So the goal is to going to be, to clear out some of this ego pride in our lives, to ask God to heal what’s underneath, and then to choose humility going forward.
Let’s dive in, Psalm 107. We don’t know the author of psalm 107, but it takes us through several scenarios related to God’s deliverance: Lost in the desert, captive in jail, illness, and in a storm at sea. We only have time today to go through half the psalm, but I think we’re going to see this theme of humility come to light again and again.
Scholars also believe this psalm relates to Israel’s return from captivity in Babylon. The nation of Israel had been blessed by God, but as the generations went by, they forgot all God had done for their ancestors, they became prideful, worshiped foreign gods, and as a result, God judged them, and they were conquered by Babylon, and taken into captivity. This psalm looks back on those events to help the nation remember, we must always remember what God did for us in the past, so we do not become prideful again in the future. That’s why it’s so important to teach our children and grandchildren about all God has done for us.
Psalm 107 begins like this, verses 1-3:
“1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.”
“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”, is the KJV, I like that better. Tell your story. Remember. Give thanks to God, be grateful. Gratitude is vital. Look back on the things God has done. Remember it all came from Him.
He has gathered each of us, from all the corners of the Earth, a peculiar people, odd, different, unique, but gathered together, all with different stories, but all with one thing in common, God has humbled us, and we belong to Him now.
Next, verses 4-7: “Some wandered in the wilderness,
lost and homeless.
5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died.
6 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble
and he rescued them from their distress.
7 He led them straight to safety,
to a city where they could live.”
The first example we have today is those wilderness wanderers. Any wilderness wanderers out there today?
Sometimes when I see someone going for long walks alone, drifting into quiet places, isolated, melancholy, desperate even, I see someone God is working on in a mighty way.
They are reaching for bottom. I was this person for years. Climbing downward, something within me knew, if I get low enough, my pride will be gone, and I will be able to turn to Jesus and be saved.
Isn’t that something? That someone homeless and addicted could actually be closer to their moment of salvation than a millionaire in an Armani suit? Never judge by externals.
This person calls on God one day, when they’ve had enough, and immediately God delivers them, he rescues them, he takes them along a road of safety, to a city where they can dwell in peace. So it is with Jesus.
This is the first humbling, the humbling of the wanderer.
As JRR Tolkien wrote, "Not all who wander are lost." Sometimes we must wander for a season, so the Lord may purge the pride from us, and bring us down to humility once again.
Verses 8-9 says, “8 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.”
As we praise the Lord, the focus goes off of us, and onto God. This guards against pride in the future. Perhaps the best guard against pride is worship and praise. In the lostness, God satisfies what we really longed for, it wasn’t more of self, it was Him.
Prayer: Lord, some of us today have wandered from you God. We’ve begun to rely on self. It’s caused us to wander away within, even while we still come to church. But no longer today Father. Forgive us Lord for the pride of relying on self, the pride of wandering away from God. We repent, we renounce this pride, we choose humility, we put on humility as a garment today, Lord Jesus heal our wounds, we declare today, we can do nothing without you Father, you are our God, not self, not ego, in Jesus name, amen.
Next example, 10-13: “10 Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,
imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
11 They rebelled against the words of God,
scorning the counsel of the Most High.
12 That is why he broke them with hard labor;
they fell, and no one was there to help them.
13 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.”
The power of the enemy is to imprison us in iron chains of sin. He traps us. In this second example we see someone who sits in darkness, could refer to someone in prison, but just as much, someone held captive by their own decisions. They rebelled against the words of God, it says. That’s where captivity begins.
Me myself, I feel like I don’t really understand just how deeply I need the word of God. I have to fight myself to read it consistently. I’m so prone to want to scroll social media, and entertain myself on YouTube.
When we neglect the word of God, or ignore certain bible verses that make us uncomfortable, we allow the door to begin to open to pride, reliance on self, and thinking we don’t really need God.
This is profoundly dangerous.
Because when we rebel against the word of God, and go on our way, we began to head down a road of rebellion. And rebellion leads to pride, and pride triggers a response from God, that he will humble us.
"Those who exalt themselves will be humbled", as it says in Matthew 23:12.
But another danger we face is religious pride. The word of God tells us that “knowledge puffs up.” If we’re always learning head knowledge, it can lead to pride, pride in our understanding, pride in our place in the church. The antidote to this is to always give all the glory to God.
Any form of knowledge based pride leads to spiritual imprisonment. God responds by humbling us, to help us. It says in verse 12 that God broke them with hard labor. They fell and no one was there to help them up.
This may seem tough, but it’s actually very important. If God didn’t humble us in our rebellion at times, we’d head off in our own direction. Thankfully God gives us this gift of breaking us, to the point that we call out, "God help me", and then God delivers us.
Verses 14-16 depict this journey: “14 He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains.
15 Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
16 For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
he cut apart their bars of iron.”
It reminds me of the scripture in Acts when the angel leads Peter out of prison. The chains fall off, the prison doors open, and the escape is made.
Every time I think about what Jesus did for me, it brings me back to my first love, which is Him. I needed Jesus then. I still need Jesus just as much today. I can’t do life alone. I can’t make decisions alone. I can’t rely on myself only. I must rely on God. I love Jesus. Jesus loves me. He is everything to me. He shattered my chains. He broke the prison doors that held me.
I must never forget! I must always remember. Jesus saved me. He is everything! Lord keep us humble.
God is able to deliver us from this, the pride of knowledge. Make this your prayer today.
Prayer: Father, some of us today have been imprisoned by wrong attitudes, wrong ways of thinking, negative thinking, self-reliance, self-condemnation, we judged ourselves too harshly, and it’s created a prison for us. Father forgive us for this unbelief, forgive us for this pride in self-thoughts instead of you. We renounce pride, we renounce these unfaithful thoughts in Jesus name, forgive us Lord, we renounce that pride of knowledge in Jesus name, and we cast off the spirit of self knowledge, in Jesus name, and we put on the garment of humility. Heal those hurts in our minds and hearts Jesus, and fill our minds with the mind of Christ, in Jesus name, amen.
Third example today, 17-20: “17 Some were fools; they rebelled
and suffered for their sins.
18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
and they were knocking on death’s door.
19 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death."
We see someone here who was acting foolishly. They were living in rebellion against God. And they began to suffer due to the sins they were practicing. This led to trauma.
They became sick, didn’t even want food, and death seemed right around the corner. Again, they were humbled by God. The pride was expunged from them.
Their eyes went from themselves, to their problems, and finally up to God who could help them. It’s so hard to look up to God, when we face a problem we want to fix it ourselves. But finally, when the pride is gone, humility comes, we realize our need and we call out to Him.
And again, God delivered them. It also says, he sent out his word and healed them. God spoke, they were healed.
Once the pride was gone, the ego was deflated, they were ready for healing. The barrier and defensive wall was gone. They called on God, and God sent his word. Jesus is that word become flesh.
For this third example we see a fool, someone who made poor choices, and they suffered. They were wounded mentally, spiritually, emotionally. In this pain they used pride to block out the hurt. But it left them so empty they couldn’t even eat. At last the pride was gone, the barrier was gone, and they called out to God.
This is the third humbling, the humbling of the barrier.
Third prayer, perhaps today you’ve desired healing, but it hasn’t come. There is a wall blocking the healing. We will pray, and set aside that wall, so Jesus may come in and heal the hurt.
Some of us have been as a wounded animal being tended to by a veterinarian, the vet tries to clean the wound, but the animal attacks, because it fears the vet may wound it. But we can let our barrier down, and let Jesus in to clean, dress, and pour oil into the wound. He is trustworthy.
Prayer: Lord, we confess the pride of protection. We’ve wanted to protect ourselves from the hurts. We’ve been through such trauma. Our ego is so fragile, we feel so weak, so we guard ourselves with pride, but now, at last Lord Jesus, we repent of this barrier. We can’t protect ourselves, only you can protect us. We repent of the pride of self, we cast off pride, we reject pride, we renounce the spirit of pride, and we embrace humility of the Lord, we put on the garment of humility. Now that the pride is gone Lord, we ask you to heal the wound beneath it, please heal us Jesus, by your stripes we are healed, in Jesus name, amen.
Verse 21, “Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”
Praising the Lord is the key, whenever you really worship God in a moment, you are killing pride. It’s always a temptation for us humans. It’s the original sin of Satan. Our flesh wants to be in control, our flesh wants to play God, our flesh wants to be important and show off.
Like Frodo and the ring, we must keep that temptation in check. God will help us. If you recall, in the end Frodo succumbed to the temptation, but, he was still saved in the end and the ring was destroyed.
For us, to guard ourselves, we should serve others humbly. The greatest of all of you, will be the servant of all, as Jesus said. If you want to be great in God's kingdom, always remember it's an upside down kingdom. But if that is your ambition, to be great in God's kingdom, not the world, then reason in your thinking, that to do this is to serve others in great humility.
Service, and worship. As it says: Praise the Lord, receive His love into your heart and think about all the wonderful things he’s done for you. Service will keep you humble, but so will worship.
Lastly, verse 22: “Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.”
Let us then offer a particular kind of sacrifice, the sacrifice of humility, by choosing thankfulness and gratitude to God. Each time we choose to thank God for something, humility grows and pride dies. Sing joyfully about his glorious acts, worship God in song, as we sing to Him, it kills pride, and builds humility.
Humility ultimately can only flourish in an environment where you are plugged into the presence of God. You really feel his love. You slow down and simply sit with your Father. You take time each day to worship Him. And that presence in your life feeds your soul. Without that presence, you will have to feed your soul with pride and ego and self. But with that heart presence of God, you’ll be at peace, and humility will reign.
One last thought on humility and pride. Remember, we are all in a spiritual battle. It's not just me vs. my flesh. There is another X-factor, the demonic forces that seek to tempt us toward pride. So one thing I want you all to do is keep a prayer in your mind, a prayer I want you to start praying every morning. It’s the armor of God prayer in Ephesians 6. Put on the full armor of God, because you are in a spiritual battle. Notice one thing here though, I always add one piece to my armor. It’s from 1st Peter 5:5, “Cloth yourself with humility.” After I've prayed the armor of God, I always put on the garment of humility last.
How deeply do you believe the word of God? God's word says there is "Armor of God" that we can "put on." It's either real or it's not. If it's real, then put it on every day!
Service, and worship. As it says: Praise the Lord, receive His love into your heart and think about all the wonderful things he’s done for you. Service will keep you humble, but so will worship.
Lastly, verse 22: “Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.”
Let us then offer a particular kind of sacrifice, the sacrifice of humility, by choosing thankfulness and gratitude to God. Each time we choose to thank God for something, humility grows and pride dies. Sing joyfully about his glorious acts, worship God in song, as we sing to Him, it kills pride, and builds humility.
Humility ultimately can only flourish in an environment where you are plugged into the presence of God. You really feel his love. You slow down and simply sit with your Father. You take time each day to worship Him. And that presence in your life feeds your soul. Without that presence, you will have to feed your soul with pride and ego and self. But with that heart presence of God, you’ll be at peace, and humility will reign.
One last thought on humility and pride. Remember, we are all in a spiritual battle. It's not just me vs. my flesh. There is another X-factor, the demonic forces that seek to tempt us toward pride. So one thing I want you all to do is keep a prayer in your mind, a prayer I want you to start praying every morning. It’s the armor of God prayer in Ephesians 6. Put on the full armor of God, because you are in a spiritual battle. Notice one thing here though, I always add one piece to my armor. It’s from 1st Peter 5:5, “Cloth yourself with humility.” After I've prayed the armor of God, I always put on the garment of humility last.
How deeply do you believe the word of God? God's word says there is "Armor of God" that we can "put on." It's either real or it's not. If it's real, then put it on every day!
Prayer: Father, today we put on the full armor of God, we put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness we put on, the belt of truth we put on, the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace we put on. We take up on the shield of faith, and we are armed with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, upon all this we put on the garment of humility, in Jesus name, amen.
