Speaker:
we are gonna be in Proverbs chapter 12.
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Proverbs chapter 12.
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We're gonna start in verse 15.
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All right, so, um, conveniently, I didn't
make this whiteboard, but, um, I guess
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someone was talking about humility, and
we are gonna be talking about humility,
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which is really awkward for someone to
come up here and talk about humility.
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I kinda feel like this guy, um, because
it's really awkward for me to be like,
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"Oh, yeah, being humble is so great.
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You should be humble."
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And then for me to be like,
"Yeah, I'm, you know, I'm trying
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to be humble, too, and I'm…"
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You know?
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Kinda like in the Book
of, uh, Numbers, is it?
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Where Moses is, like, the most humble man
to walk the Earth, and he wrote the book.
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So anyway.
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Um, it's kinda awkward, but I am,
right, also trying to be humble, right?
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I'm not perfect at it.
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I'm not trying to be up here saying,
"Oh, yeah, I'm the most humblest ever."
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Um, I'm also pursuing
humility, just like you.
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So anyway, um, there you go.
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Don't be like this guy.
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Um- But what I did wanna tell you about,
something that I, I learned recently,
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is, uh, there is this country that
people believed to exist for about 100
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years, uh, more than that actually.
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It's called Frislandia.
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Frislandia.
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Ever heard of it?
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Um, it's not a real country,
but it is really on real maps.
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So in the 1500s, back, you know,
like think about explorers, right?
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Think like, you know, Magellan,
and, um, Amerigo Vespucci, and
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Christopher Columbus, right?
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If you took your, your world history,
or if you didn't, that's okay.
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Um, but when people were exploring,
right, when they were trying to get to
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America and they thought it was India,
they thought there was a country up
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here by Iceland called Frislandia.
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This is the best picture
I could find, sorry.
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Um, but hopefully you
know that this is Iceland.
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Um, there was this country up here
that people really thought existed,
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and for 100 years, like all the maps
from this era have this country up
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here, north of Ireland and the UK.
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And for a long time, and there, there's
a explorer who, like, was one of the
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most famous explorers of the time.
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He went to Greenland
and thought he was here.
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And so this whole time he had
this map that was bad, right?
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He had a bad map, right?
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This is supposed to be,
I think Greenland, right?
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Um, G-R-O-E-N, right?
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That's like reading my notes from school.
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But Greenland, right?
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And then we've got Frislandia.
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So anyway, and look, there's like
real cities that they thought
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existed on this, like, fake country.
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They like…
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This is like a legit map from the time.
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Anyway, so this explorer basically,
or this dude, his name is Zeno.
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He found a story from his ancestors about
how they were exploring up here in like
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the 1300s, and he, like, just made up this
island in his story about his ancestors.
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And he, it got published on
like all the maps of the time.
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And then actually,
England claimed this land.
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They were like, "Yeah, that's
our, that's our island.
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We own it."
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They were like, "We were there.
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We did it.
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We got it."
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They really, I think…
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I don't even know where they went.
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They thought they landed here, and
they were like, "We got it," right?
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Which is, imagine if you were, like,
the explorer who, like, claimed this
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land for England, and then you found
out actually, dude, you claimed
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land that, like, doesn't exist.
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Like, literally does- it's not even there.
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Like, you could, you could
sail to this spot on the map
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and it wouldn't even be there.
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Would, like, would just be gone.
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You would just be like, "Uh, we should
be on land right now," and you're
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in the middle of the ocean, right?
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That would be…
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You'd feel so foolish, right?
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You'd be like, "Well, I'm- I feel
like the dumbest person in the world."
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Right?
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My claim to fame is that I explored this
land that doesn't even exist, right?
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So if you see the world the wrong way,
you make a fool of yourself, right?
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If you, if you see the world, if you think
things are, are one way and they're really
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not, it's really embarrassing for you.
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And what we're gonna see through God's
word tonight is that God has set the
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world up a certain way, and that's,
that's one way to view the world.
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But if you try to view it
the opposite way, you're…
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You, you think maybe, "Oh
yeah, I'm doing so good.
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I'm exploring, I'm discovering things.
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I'm d- I'm doing awesome."
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But really you're just gonna
make a fool of yourself and
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be really, really embarrassed.
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Okay?
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And so really seeing the world is…
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has to do with humility.
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Okay?
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Humility, what I, what I want you
to see tonight is that humility
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is a way of seeing the world.
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Okay?
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So we're gonna be in Proverbs
12, starting in verse 15.
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Okay?
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Humility is a way of seeing the world,
and it's the right way to see the world.
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If you see the world In a proud way,
right, a self-inflated way, you're
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gonna embarrass yourself or you're
gonna make a fool of yourself.
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If you see the world as a humble person,
that's the right way to see the world.
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Okay?
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Here's what we have in Proverbs 12:15.
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"The way of a fool," right?
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The, the path, the life,
lifestyle of, of a foolish person.
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Remember in Proverbs, we got a
wise person, foolish person, right?
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They're, they're opposites.
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"Is right in his own eyes."
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So this foolish person, he thinks
… He's like, "Yeah, I got this.
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I'm smart.
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I know what I'm doing.
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I have my life together.
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I know what to do.
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I'm … I, I always am," right?
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"The, the smartest person in the room.
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I always have the winning side in arguing.
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I'm always the, the winner in the debate.
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I always know something
that you don't know."
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Right?
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This, that's this type of person.
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I, "I always have something
that you might not know," right?
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"I'm right in my own eyes.
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I got it figured out."
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"But a wise man listens to advice."
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So the person who's foolish thinks
they're not, and that's what's so crazy
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about foolishness and wisdom, right?
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Is foolish people think
they're not foolish, right?
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Foolishness is … It's kinda like one of
the symptoms of being foolish is tricking
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yourself into thinking that you're not.
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Whereas being wise, you know
I have more wisdom to gain.
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I'm not wise enough.
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I need advice.
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I need help.
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And so a wise person sees
themself the right way.
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They see others the right way.
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They see God the right way.
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Whereas a foolish person, his, his
world is all out of, out of sorts.
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He sees God as not very important.
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He sees himself as having it all together
and having everything figured out.
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He sees other people as maybe,
eh, sometimes useful, not that
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important, or maybe obstacles to
what he wants to accomplish or what
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she wants to do, and that really
is gonna end up being embarrassing.
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Whereas the wise person,
they are humble, right?
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They, they know they need more wisdom,
and that really is the best way to live.
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So all your points tonight, I don't
know if you saw, start with look, right?
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So basically we're gonna,
we're gonna see three looks.
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Okay?
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So we're gonna start with how
do humble people look at God and
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how do proud people look at God.
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Okay?
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So first point, look at God, right?
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Look at God How do humble people see
God versus how do proud people see God?
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And one of those ways will leave you
really embarrassed and make a fool
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of yourself, and one of those ways
will lead to life, to joy, right?
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To, to you being happy.
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To you standing before God one
day and, and not having the
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worst day of your life, right?
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But having the, the best day of
your life, where he says, "Enter
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into the joy of your master."
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So, how do wise people see God?
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Well, Proverbs 15:33 says, we talked
about this before, "The fear of
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the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor."
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So we talked about this
fear of the Lord, right?
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We talked about what that means.
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Basically, in case you, you, you haven't
been with us in Proverbs, fear of the
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Lord means God is God and I'm not, right?
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Someone who fears the
Lord, they let God be God.
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They don't just let God be life coach.
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They don't just let God be helpful.
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They let God be God.
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Right?
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God is in control.
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God is big.
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God is mighty.
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God is smarter than me.
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God loves me.
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He knows better than me.
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They let God be God.
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That's fearing the Lord.
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Right?
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It also means, in a sense, you,
you do really fear the Lord.
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You do see, man, God is powerful.
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God is way bigger than
anything I could come up with.
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That's what fear the Lord means,
and it's related to humility, right?
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If you're proud, you will not fear
the Lord, because y- you're not
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gonna think God is a big deal.
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You're not gonna think God is relevant.
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You're gonna think, "Well, you
know, God is for people who need
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help sleeping at night," right?
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"Religion is just for people who, who
need to make their conscience feel good
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or who need the warm fuzzies," right?
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Maybe you've heard an
atheist say that, right?
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"It's just your moral crutch to, to help
you deal with the problems in life."
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Or, you know, if you're a proud person,
maybe you'll s- you'll say something
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like, "Well, you know, fearing the
Lord, it's great for, great for you.
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I don't need it."
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Right?
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"True for you, not for me."
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That's something that a proud
person would say about God.
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Or maybe something, something like,
"Well, yeah, m- maybe that works
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for my parents, you know, or, or
previous generations, but the, the
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Bible doesn't really have anything to
ay about my life right now in:
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What God says in the Bible doesn't really
matter for my problems, for my life,
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for my friends, for my circumstances."
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That's what a proud person says.
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Right?
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"God, you don't understand.
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You don't know.
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You don't know what it's like."
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If you're humble, you're
gonna say, "God is God."
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Right?
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"God, God knows me better than I know me."
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Right?
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"God cares about me more
than I care about me.
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God made me, and so I'm
gonna let God be God.
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I'm gonna trust him."
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Right?
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That's what humble people do.
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And naturally, right, if you do
fear the Lord, if you do think
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God really is who He says He is,
you're gonna depend on God, right?
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Proverbs 13:13 says, "Whoever
despises the word…"
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That word despise, we saw that in
our very first series or our very
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first sermon in Proverbs, right?
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Despise, you think of someone who
thinks something is, like, worthless.
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Right?
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Someone who looks down on something.
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Oh, not, you know, maybe, maybe you
think, you know, you, you have a
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preference on, on what your favorite,
uh, you know, ranch has been in the
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news lately, right, with, you know…
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You, you ever met a ranch snob?
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You know those people?
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They think, they're like, "Well, you
know, this ranch is too watery, or
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this ranch or that, but, you know, that
place, they've got the best ranch."
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Maybe you've never heard
of anyone like that.
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Or I talked about my brother
with his chocolate, right?
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He, he, he goes to Switzerland, and
now he won't eat regular chocolate
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anymore 'cause he's had Swiss chocolate.
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He's like, "I'm not gonna eat
milk chocolate in America.
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That's so lame," right?
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He despises American chocolate.
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He thinks it's beneath him.
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Right?
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It's not good enough for him.
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He's too good for it, right?
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If you're that way
towards God, you're proud.
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You're saying, "What God says is
beneath me, not good enough for me."
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Not relevant enough for me.
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Not important enough for me.
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That's being proud, right?
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Me, oh, it only matters when I'm older.
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That's you being proud, saying,
"What God has to say doesn't
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matter for my life right now."
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You're despising it, right?
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So whoever despises the Word, right,
God's Word, brings destruction on himself.
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This isn't just like a, oh, yeah.
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You know, I've heard Hindus
say, "Hinduism's just the
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best way for you to live.
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It's one of the many ways, we
just think it's the best way.
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That's why you should be a Hindu."
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What God says is, "It's the
only good way for you to live.
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Every other way to live
is self-destructive."
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And that's not God being prideful,
right, and saying, "Oh, well, you
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know, everyone else who's, who's,
who doesn't go my way is, like, way
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worse than people who go my way."
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The i- the idea there is God cares.
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He made you, and he says, "My
way is so good for you, and
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I want you to live this way."
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Right?
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Every other way is self-destructive,
and it's him protecting you.
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Right?
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If, if you knew someone was gonna
drink poison, you wouldn't be
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like, "Oh, yeah, but it'll just…
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You know, that's just your diet.
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You do you."
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Right?
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If you cared about them, you'd say,
"That's actually gonna kill you.
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That's bad for you."
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Right?
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Looking down on God's Word is poisonous.
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It's gonna kill you.
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But whoever reveres the commandment
will be rewarded, right?
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Think about the opposites here,
despise and revere, right?
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Someone who despises something,
"It's not good enough for me."
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Someone who reveres something,
like, "Wow, that's so cool.
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That's so awesome."
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Right?
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Like, imagine if, um, you know, you
got a autographed jersey from, from
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your favorite, favorite player.
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Or imagine hypothetically, just
hypothetically, imagine if you were
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golfing at, you know, PGA Omni, and,
uh, you saw Cooper Flagg, right?
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And you got to take a
picture with him, right?
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You'd be like, "Wow, this is so cool.
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This NBA player, you know,
first pick in the NBA draft."
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It'd be so cool, right?
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You would have that,
that sort of reverence.
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You know, maybe you'd even be scared
to talk to him or something, right?
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Um, there's difference
in attitude there, right?
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Humble people have a different type
of attitude towards God and His Word.
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Prideful people don't Or there's
this sense of dependence.
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I, I am helpless without God, right?
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If I don't follow God's way, I'm lost.
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I don't know what I'm gonna do.
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I, I'm, I'm gonna die.
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I need God.
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It's not just like, "Oh, yeah, I should
do this 'cause my parents tell me to."
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It's that I need it.
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That's what humble people think.
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That's how they feel about God.
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It's not just like, "Oh, yeah,
maybe sometimes I'll check
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out what God has to say."
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It's like, "No, I need to know what
God has to say about everything 'cause
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I need God in every aspect of my life.
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I need God's wisdom for my friends,
for how, who, who should I be friends
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with, how should I talk to them?
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I need God's wisdom for what job I
should take, what college I should go to.
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I need God's wisdom for who I should date.
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I need God's wisdom for how I spend
my time, how I spend my money."
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Right?
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You want it to impact all of you
because you're like, "I need it."
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Not just, "Oh, yeah, it'd be helpful
sometimes," but, "I need it."
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Right?
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That's how humble people feel about God
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Humble people also know, right,
that they're not good enough,
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that they need God, right?
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That's, that's part of being humble.
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Proverbs 28:13 says, "Whoever
conceals his transgressions will not
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prosper, but he who confesses and
forsakes them will obtain mercy."
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Okay, so anyone who covers
up their sin, right?
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If you're, if you think, "Oh,
I'm gonna sin, but I'm not…
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No one's gonna find out about it.
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I'm not gonna tell anyone.
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I'm not gonna tell my friends, I'm
not gonna tell my parents, I'm not
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gonna tell my small group leader.
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No one needs to know."
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Right, if you're that type of person,
it's not gonna go well for you, right?
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You won't prosper.
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All the stuff you think you're
gonna get out of hiding your sin,
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not gonna be helpful for you.
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That's what God's Word says.
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Now, if you think you can get away with
it, oh, like, no, you know, no one, you
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know, I, I cleared my search history
or, or no one heard the words I said
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That's not gonna go well for you
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'Cause one, God already knows.
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He already saw you, right?
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But two, the way to, to obtain mercy
from God, right, to have a s- restored
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relationship with God, is not pretending
like you have it all together.
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It's to confess, right?
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To bring it into the light
and say, "I am a sinner.
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I really thought those things.
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I really said those things.
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I really looked at those
things," and own it.
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Right?
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Confess.
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Agree, right?
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I say the same thing about
myself that God says about me.
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You don't try to minimize your sin.
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"Oh, well, you know, it was just, uh,
just some white lies," or, "Uh, you
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know, everyone's anxious," or, "I just…
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They're just so annoying, I can't
help but get angry," or, "I'm
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just a guy," or, "I'm just a girl.
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This is just how it is."
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You agree with God.
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This is sin.
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This is sin that deserves to be punished
forever in hell 'cause it's against God.
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You say the same thing God says about
your sin, and then you turn from it.
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You forsake it.
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You give it up.
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You say, "I'm not doing it anymore.
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I'm not living for that.
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That's not my life anymore.
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It's not who I am."
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And you run to God, and
He gives you mercy, right?
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The, the people that hide
their sin don't get mercy.
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The people who confess
their sin get mercy.
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It's not the people who don't
have sin that get mercy, right?
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'Cause everyone has sin.
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That's the whole point, is you're either
hiding it or you're confessing it.
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There's n- there's no other option.
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And so a humble person is really the
only type of person that goes to heaven.
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Maybe you've never
thought about it that way.
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You will not go to heaven if you're proud
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James 4 says God opposes the proud.
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If you want God to be
your enemy, be proud.
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Puff yourself up.
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Think you know better than God.
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Look down on other people.
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Focus on yourself.
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That's how you get God to oppose you
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But if you want a relationship with God
that's full of grace, right, mercy, favor,
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love, you, you say, "God, I need you.
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I'm, I'm a sinner.
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I'm guilty.
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I'm not gonna hide it.
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I'm not gonna try to make up for it.
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I'm not gonna try to excuse it or
minimize it or sanitize it or whatever.
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I'm gonna, I'm gonna confess
it and turn from it."
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That's what humble
people do with their sin.
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So humility starts with God,
starts with who you think God is.
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:
Is God really God to you,
or is He just kinda there?
404
:
Is He sometimes helpful,
or is He God, right?
405
:
Is He the Lord of your life,
or is He just, I hope I don't
406
:
have to go to hell one day?
407
:
Right, so humility starts with who
you think God is, but then naturally
408
:
it turns to who you think you are.
409
:
So our second point is look at yourself
410
:
Look at yourself
411
:
See, humble people know that they
don't have it all figured out.
412
:
Right, there's a…
413
:
Humble people have a healthy
sense of distrust of themselves.
414
:
They're like, "Oh, I might not be right.
415
:
It's actually pretty likely
that, that I'm wrong."
416
:
There's a healthy sense of, "Okay,
I think it should go this way, but I
417
:
need other people to, to, to, to give
their advice, and most importantly, I
418
:
need to hear what God says about it."
419
:
Right?
420
:
Humble people know my ideas are
usually not the best, and actually
421
:
sometimes they're really bad.
422
:
There's a, there's a
healthy sense of distrust.
423
:
Right, I don't know if you've ever felt
that, where you're like, "You know what?
424
:
I might totally have messed this up."
425
:
Um, this happened a lot.
426
:
I got to witness it, uh, firsthand
when I was dating my wife.
427
:
Um, she would often come home from work.
428
:
She'd get halfway to work, and then
she'd come back 'cause she'd be scared
429
:
she'd left her hair straightener on
and was gonna burn down her apartment.
430
:
Guys, you ever, you ever
felt that before, right?
431
:
You ever feel like you left the hair
straightener on, you're like, "Oh,
432
:
my goodness, I might totally…"
433
:
You know?
434
:
Yeah.
435
:
Um,
436
:
so anyway, but there's a, the reason she
goes back and doesn't go like, "Oh, it's
437
:
fine, I got this," right, is because she
knows, oh, I might have forgotten it.
438
:
I really might have.
439
:
Right?
440
:
She's humble enough to say, "I
really might have forgotten that.
441
:
I really might have left it
plugged in and left it on."
442
:
Right?
443
:
She, she knows I could have done that.
444
:
Right?
445
:
If, if you were proud, right, if my…
446
:
If, if Shay was proud, she would've
been like, "Oh, I, I never do that.
447
:
Who would do that?
448
:
Only losers do that.
449
:
Why would I ever leave my
hair straightener plugged in?"
450
:
Right?
451
:
But she distrusted herself
enough to go back and check.
452
:
Right?
453
:
And that's what humble people do.
454
:
They say, "You know what?
455
:
I might not have done that right.
456
:
I might not have done that
perfectly, and honestly might not
457
:
have even done that very well."
458
:
There's a, there's a healthy sense
of my way isn't always the best way.
459
:
Proverbs 14:12 says, "There's a way that
seems right to a man," right, or to a
460
:
woman, "but its end is the way to death."
461
:
What the Bible says about you
and me is that we are messed up.
462
:
Our sense of what's good for us and
what's bad for us are often backward.
463
:
They're often flipped.
464
:
There's, there's a way that, that you
and I think, "Oh, that, that's so good.
465
:
I'd love to do that.
466
:
I'd love to be friends with those people.
467
:
I'd love to go to that school.
468
:
I'd love to, to have this much money.
469
:
I'd love to wear those clothes.
470
:
I'd love to, to look this way.
471
:
I'd love to, to be in that group."
472
:
And it's actually horrible.
473
:
Like, it's not even, right, it's
not even just like, "Oh yeah, you
474
:
know, that's like 10% worse than the
other thing you could have picked."
475
:
No, no, it's like gonna kill you.
476
:
Then we're like, "Oh, that sounds great.
477
:
I love that."
478
:
Right?
479
:
The Bible is very clear that,
that you and me are really bad
480
:
at knowing what's good for us.
481
:
And that's how humble
people look at themselves.
482
:
They say, "You know what?
483
:
I, I, I have a, a messed up way of
looking at the world because I'm a sinner.
484
:
I'm infected"
485
:
I often think that things that are good
for me are actually bad for me, right?
486
:
I often think that, oh, time in
God's Word, it's boring, it's hard to
487
:
understand, it's a waste of my time.
488
:
I often think that praying is just,
uh, uh, well, it's hard to focus, it's
489
:
not worth it, I'm not gonna do it.
490
:
I often think that, oh, hearing a
sermon, going to church, it's, you
491
:
know, it's just, it's old, it's hard
to, to, you know, it's what adults do.
492
:
It's not on my level.
493
:
It's not relatable to me, right?
494
:
I think things that are
good for me are bad for me.
495
:
Right?
496
:
Or, or talking to that person,
being friends with that person
497
:
that no one else is friends with,
oh, that's, you know, that's gonna
498
:
make me look bad, or, uh, it's not
very cool, or something like that.
499
:
We think that's, that's
a good thing to do.
500
:
That's a loving thing,
a humble thing to do.
501
:
And we think, "Oh, it's not my thing.
502
:
Someone else can do that."
503
:
Right?
504
:
Or, or obeying my parents, or loving
my siblings, or being patient, right?
505
:
We think those things
are gonna be bad for us.
506
:
But really, those are, those
are the best things to do.
507
:
And then we think the things that
are bad for us are good for us.
508
:
We're like, "Oh, yeah, sign me up.
509
:
I'd love to, to embrace the world and
all the values that, that the world has.
510
:
I'd love to, to wear the clothes
that the world wants me to wear.
511
:
I'd love to, to go hang out
with the people that the world
512
:
wants me to hang out with.
513
:
I'd love to pursue myself and, and
my desires and, and my pleasures
514
:
So we often think that those
things are good for us, and
515
:
really they're gonna kill us
516
:
A couple other proverbs that,
that show that same thing.
517
:
And there are those who are
clean in their own eyes, but
518
:
are not washed of their filth.
519
:
That was just, like, such a memorable
proverb, I had to put it in here.
520
:
And maybe that's you.
521
:
Maybe you think, "I'm right with God.
522
:
I go to church.
523
:
I know the Bible.
524
:
I'm a good person.
525
:
I don't do drugs.
526
:
I eat my vegetables," right?
527
:
"I'm a good person.
528
:
I drive only five over the speed limit.
529
:
I'm a good person," right?
530
:
Maybe that's you.
531
:
Maybe you're clean in your own
eyes, but before God, you're filthy.
532
:
Because on the inside, you're a hypocrite,
you're prideful, you're distrusting Him.
533
:
You think God's lame.
534
:
You gossip behind people's back.
535
:
Maybe you, you get angry at
people, but you don't say
536
:
anything, you just hold it in.
537
:
You think you're clean, but
before God, you are guilty.
538
:
Maybe that's you.
539
:
It's really easy for us to think that way.
540
:
That's what humble people think.
541
:
Humble people think, "Oh, it'd be
easy for me to trick myself into
542
:
thinking I'm okay when I'm really not."
543
:
A proud person thinks,
"Oh, no way I'm wrong.
544
:
No way."
545
:
Similar idea here.
546
:
"Whoever trusts in his own mind
is a fool, but he who walks
547
:
in wisdom will be delivered."
548
:
All right, someone who relies on their
own ideas, their own conception of
549
:
the world, God says that's foolish.
550
:
Right?
551
:
You never ask people for help.
552
:
You don't ever wanna talk to people who
are older than you or wiser than you
553
:
to get their, their input on things.
554
:
You think you got it figured out.
555
:
You think your parents are lame
and boring and they don't have
556
:
anything good to say to you.
557
:
You're trusting in yourself
558
:
Right?
559
:
Humble people are, are ready
and willing to be wrong.
560
:
They're not holding on
to, "I need to be right.
561
:
I need to be right.
562
:
I need to be right."
563
:
And humble people assume that
we have a lot of problems.
564
:
And that's true, right?
565
:
If you don't think you are,
then you're actually…
566
:
If you think you have it all
together, you're actually crazy.
567
:
Maybe you never thought about it like that
568
:
Um, another angle to take on that,
'cause maybe you're thinking, "Oh,
569
:
does that mean God just wants me to
hate myself and think I'm a loser
570
:
and I can't do anything right?"
571
:
The, the Bible talks
about looking at yourself.
572
:
It uses this word called sober judgment.
573
:
Okay, in Romans 12:3, he says,
"Everyone among you, don't think of
574
:
yourself more highly than you are."
575
:
Right?
576
:
Don't have an inflated
opinion of yourself.
577
:
Right?
578
:
Don't think, you know…
579
:
You ever see those videos of the NFL
players or NBA players, they see their,
580
:
like, Madden ratings or their 2K ratings?
581
:
And they're like, "There's no way
I'm a s- 86 sprint speed," or, you
582
:
know, "There's no way I, I'm…"
583
:
Whatever, right?
584
:
They're, they're like, "There's no way.
585
:
I'm way higher than that."
586
:
Right?
587
:
They've gotta…
588
:
They think of themselves
more highly than they are.
589
:
Right?
590
:
They have an inflated view of themself.
591
:
Instead, it says, "Think of
yourself with sober judgment."
592
:
Right?
593
:
Maybe you only heard the word sober
in a, in an alcoholic context, right?
594
:
But the idea here is you're
looking at yourself the right way.
595
:
Right?
596
:
You're not saying, you're
not looking at yourself…
597
:
Don't…
598
:
Notice he doesn't say, "Think of
yourself more lowly than you are."
599
:
He says sober, right?
600
:
Clear, clear-headed.
601
:
You see it the right way.
602
:
You see yourself for who you really are.
603
:
Not less than you are,
but not more than you are.
604
:
Who you really are.
605
:
When I was in, in health class in
school, they gave us these, uh,
606
:
they called them drunk goggles.
607
:
And so, 'cause, uh, what they did,
'cause you know how if, like, so if
608
:
you're driving and, and the, and the,
your, the police officer pulls you over
609
:
'cause he thinks you're intoxicated,
he's gonna have you do, like, some tests.
610
:
You know, he has you, like, walk…
611
:
Well, you don't know this 'cause
you've never done this, right?
612
:
Um, I hope.
613
:
Um, but he…
614
:
Uh, I don't know this from experience.
615
:
Never happened to me, just
so, just so we're clear.
616
:
Um, but what they told me is that
if you're, if the police officer
617
:
pulls you over, he thinks you're
intoxicated, what he has you do, he
618
:
has you, you know, sometimes they make
you, like, say, you know, some, some
619
:
sentences to, to, to, you know, if
you're slurring your words, whatever.
620
:
But one thing they have you do is
they have you, like, like, walk in
621
:
a line like this and then, like,
touch your, your fingers to your
622
:
nose and do something like that.
623
:
And so they gave us the drunk
goggles, and they put the drunk
624
:
goggles on, and what those do is
they make it feel like you're drunk.
625
:
And so you can't…
626
:
Y- your balance is totally off, and you
c- you literally cannot do this when you
627
:
have the goggles on because you, you're
not seeing the world the right way.
628
:
It's like, you know, when
you get o- get off a…
629
:
Not…
630
:
The, you know the teacup ride,
the thing that spins, right?
631
:
What are those called?
632
:
Teacups.
633
:
Teacup rides.
634
:
No, but, like, 'cause
they're at parks, too.
635
:
But they're not teacups all the time.
636
:
Anyway.
637
:
Spinny things.
638
:
The spinny things, yes.
639
:
Spinning teacups.
640
:
Spinning teacups.
641
:
Okay.
642
:
That sometimes aren't t…
643
:
Those things, right?
644
:
You're, you can't walk because
the world is spinning, right?
645
:
You're not seeing the world the right way.
646
:
In a sense, you're,
you're not sober, right?
647
:
You're not clear-headed.
648
:
Right?
649
:
Humility is not hating yourself
or putting yourself down, okay?
650
:
It's seeing yourself for
who you really are, right?
651
:
So, so maybe you think, "Oh,
I'm so humble because I think
652
:
God would never forgive me."
653
:
That's actually not being humble.
654
:
That's being prideful, 'cause
that's you saying, "God's grace is
655
:
too small and my sin is too big."
656
:
That's really self-focused of you.
657
:
That's actually you minimizing God, right?
658
:
If you think God would never forgive
you because of what you've done, or
659
:
maybe you're someone who thinks, "Oh,
well, people just don't understand me.
660
:
They don't know what my problems are like.
661
:
They don't know what my
circumstances are like.
662
:
They don't know, you don't
know what it's like to be me."
663
:
That's actually really
prideful of you to say that.
664
:
'Cause what you're saying is, "No one
in the history of the world has ever
665
:
been through what I'm going through.
666
:
I'm the only person who knows
what it's like to feel like this."
667
:
Which first of all, God knows.
668
:
God knows everything.
669
:
He can empathize with you
and how you feel, right?
670
:
Um, but also, you're, you're saying that,
"Yeah, no one else can understand me."
671
:
Right?
672
:
It's very self-focused.
673
:
Or maybe you're saying, "Oh, I
wish I was different," right?
674
:
"I hate myself.
675
:
I wish, I wish I looked different.
676
:
I wish I felt different.
677
:
I, I wish all this stuff
was different about me."
678
:
But again, that's not being humble.
679
:
Right?
680
:
If you're out there saying, "Oh, I wish
I had, you know, more of this or, or less
681
:
of this," or, "I wish I looked like this,"
or, "I wish I wasn't like that," right?
682
:
That's a lot of self-focus, right?
683
:
And we're gonna talk about this, this
soon, but really that's you focusing on
684
:
yourself, and it's you looking at yourself
in a way that's not even true, right?
685
:
'Cause what you're saying
is, "God, you made me wrong.
686
:
You messed up, God."
687
:
You're accusing God which
is not a good place to be
688
:
So really, if you're someone who
thinks of yourself too highly,
689
:
obviously you're, you're crazy, right?
690
:
You're, you're not sober.
691
:
But if you think of yourself too lowly,
right, if you're someone who maybe
692
:
hates themselves, um, you're, you're not
seeing yourself soberly either, right?
693
:
You're not seeing yourself clearly
694
:
Or you're looking at yourself
with the wrong eyes, right?
695
:
You're listening to
the wrong voice, right?
696
:
You're judging yourself
by the wrong standards.
697
:
You're judging yourself by maybe the
world's standards or the standards
698
:
you see on Instagram, and that's
why you feel the way you feel.
699
:
Or you're telling yourself the
things that the world tells you.
700
:
You're not telling you
what God says to you.
701
:
All
702
:
right.
703
:
My mom had this sticky note, and
it's been ingrained in my head, and
704
:
it was really cheesy, but it works,
and it says, "The truest thing about
705
:
you is what God says about you."
706
:
Right?
707
:
You can make up whatever
you want about yourself.
708
:
The world can tell you whatever it
thinks about who you are and what
709
:
you're like and what you're supposed
to do and what you're supposed to be.
710
:
But what really matters is what God says
about you, 'cause that's what's true.
711
:
That's what you can rely on.
712
:
And that's what humble people do.
713
:
They take God at His word.
714
:
God gets to define who I am and what
I'm like and what I should be, right?
715
:
Not the world, not myself,
not my expectations, not
716
:
my parents, not my friends.
717
:
God defines who I am.
718
:
What He says about me is true,
and you take Him at His word
719
:
But also, we talk about how humble
people look at themselves, right?
720
:
We said they don't
really trust themselves.
721
:
They look at themselves clearly.
722
:
Um, but also they don't look
at themselves very much.
723
:
Uh, Philippians 2:4 says, "Let each of
you not look only to his own interests."
724
:
This is kinda Yoda
speech right here, right?
725
:
Don't look out for only your
own interests, but also to
726
:
the interests of others.
727
:
So don't just think about what do I want,
what do I need, what do I need to have
728
:
a good day, what am I gonna do today,
how am I gonna make myself happy, right?
729
:
Think about other people, right?
730
:
How can I encourage someone?
731
:
How can I serve someone?
732
:
How can I love someone?
733
:
Right?
734
:
Humble people don't really
think about themselves.
735
:
It … And maybe this is
kinda sound weird to you.
736
:
Humble people aren't really worried
about how humble they are, 'cause they're
737
:
too busy worrying about other people.
738
:
They're too busy worrying about how can
I, how can I be a blessing to my friends?
739
:
How can I be a good friend today?
740
:
How can I be a good son or daughter today?
741
:
How can I be a good sibling today?
742
:
They're not stopping to worry
about, oh, am I being humble enough?
743
:
What they're worrying about is
how can I, how can I love someone?
744
:
How can I honor God today?
745
:
What does that look like?
746
:
If you're worried about that,
you don't really have to worry
747
:
about how humble you are, right?
748
:
Uh, the phrase that a lot of people
talk about with humility, they say,
749
:
"Humility isn't thinking less of yourself.
750
:
It's thinking of yourself less."
751
:
You're not, you're just not that concerned
with oh, w- what do I get out of this?
752
:
Doesn't really bother you,
'cause you're not in it for that.
753
:
You're in it for how can I honor God here?
754
:
How can I serve the Lord?
755
:
How can I make him look good?
756
:
How can I bless my friends?
757
:
That's what you're in it for, and so
you're not really worried about oh,
758
:
I didn't get everything I wanted out
of that, 'cause it's like, "Oh, cool.
759
:
I encouraged my friend, or I grew
from … I gained wisdom from that."
760
:
So the way humble people look at
themselves is kind of just not very much.
761
:
Right?
762
:
They look at themselves some, but
mostly they're concerned about, about
763
:
God and His glory and about other
people and how they can serve them.
764
:
And so our third point is look at others.
765
:
And humble people usually
look outward, not inward.
766
:
So Philippians 2:4 is
what we just saw, right?
767
:
Don't look at, out for yourself.
768
:
Don't always be coming to,
coming to your, your class or, or
769
:
True North, or, you know, going
home thinking, "What do I need?
770
:
What do I want?
771
:
How do I establish my rules," right?
772
:
But think about others.
773
:
But right before that,
here's what it says.
774
:
"Do nothing from selfish ambition," right?
775
:
So you all know what that means, right?
776
:
I want this.
777
:
These are my goals for today, my
agenda for how this is gonna go.
778
:
Or conceit, right?
779
:
That means basically, uh, when
someone's conceited, it's, they
780
:
think they're better than you.
781
:
Right, and something interesting about how
God set up the world, do you notice that
782
:
whenever you see someone who you think is
prideful, you wanna, like, tear them down?
783
:
You want them to, like, you know,
come down to Earth a little bit.
784
:
Like, maybe you're watching the
World Cup and there's a player who's,
785
:
like, s- you know, bragging all
the time and doing all this stuff.
786
:
Like, did you see that guy from
France was, like, yelling at
787
:
the goalkeeper from Cape Verde?
788
:
And I was like, "Dude, seriously?
789
:
You're, like, angry at the
goalkeeper from Cape Verde?
790
:
Like, you just won a game, and
now you're yelling at this…"
791
:
Anyway, right, but we want him to…
792
:
Like, we're like, "Oh, that's so lame.
793
:
Why is he doing that?"
794
:
Right?
795
:
But then when you see someone who's
humble, who's, like, not getting what
796
:
you think they should, you're like,
"Oh, they, they deserve recognition.
797
:
They deserve praise," right?
798
:
God has set up the world for you
to, to think humility is awesome
799
:
and pride is so unattractive.
800
:
Right?
801
:
You don't wanna be around someone
who's all about themselves.
802
:
Right?
803
:
The way God has set up the
world is we love humble people.
804
:
We just don't always wanna be a humble
person because that hurts us, right?
805
:
Here's what he says.
806
:
"Don't do anything from selfish ambition
or conceit, but in humility count others
807
:
more significant than yourselves."
808
:
Which that's really hard to do, right?
809
:
Because the problem is, is, is
you and me, if we're honest, we're
810
:
wired to put me first, right?
811
:
You're wired to put you first.
812
:
And so really being a
Christian is undoing yourself.
813
:
'Cause you take yourself off the throne
of your life and you put God on the throne
814
:
of your life, and now your main concern
isn't, "What do I get out of this?"
815
:
But instead you're saying, "Oh,
other people, what they need is
816
:
more important than what I need."
817
:
Isn't that crazy?
818
:
When you become a Christian, if you,
if you say, "I'm gonna follow Jesus,"
819
:
you're signing up to say, "Other
people are more important than I am."
820
:
That's how humble people live.
821
:
That's how people follow Jesus
822
:
Right?
823
:
When you show up to, to school, you're
not thinking, "How do I have a good day?"
824
:
You're thinking, "What do my
classmates, my teachers, my
825
:
friends need from me today?"
826
:
Right?
827
:
What words do they need?
828
:
What conversations and
topics do they need?
829
:
What encouragement?
830
:
D- does somebody need to hear
the gospel from me today?
831
:
That's what you're thinking.
832
:
Or maybe when you're at home,
you're not thinking, "Oh, well,
833
:
what can I do with my free time?"
834
:
You're thinking, "How
can I serve my family?"
835
:
That's what humble people do.
836
:
Say, "Oh, maybe…"
837
:
And I mean, this, this is, is so
relevant to so many things because
838
:
if you think about this, if you are,
are selfish, you are never going
839
:
to share the gospel with anyone
because they probably won't like you
840
:
But you have to sacrifice your own
ambition, your own desire to be liked,
841
:
your own desire to, to be included
or to be looked at as cool, and you
842
:
have to be willing to, to kill that
and say, "No, I'm gonna risk it for…
843
:
'cause I love this person.
844
:
What they need is they
need to know Jesus."
845
:
Right?
846
:
Someone did that for you.
847
:
Right?
848
:
They loved you enough to say, "I'm, I'm
gonna risk my friendship," or maybe your
849
:
parents did that, "I'm gonna risk my
kids not liking me 'cause I force them to
850
:
go to church, 'cause I care about them.
851
:
I want them to hear the gospel."
852
:
Right.
853
:
So we look at others as more
important if we're really humble.
854
:
Right?
855
:
We see that person's needs, what
they need from me is more important
856
:
than what I should get from them.
857
:
Right?
858
:
But also, humble people come
to, to give, not to take, right?
859
:
And this is very similar, but
we see this from Jesus, right?
860
:
Jesus says in Mark 10, "If
you wanna be great," right?
861
:
If you wanna be cool, you wanna
be awesome, you want God to
862
:
think, "That's someone that I
want to, to, to lift up," right?
863
:
"You should be a servant.
864
:
And if you wanna be first,
you should be a slave."
865
:
And notice he doesn't just say slave of
some people, nice people, people you like,
866
:
people you think deserve your effort.
867
:
Everyone
868
:
You should serve all kinds of people.
869
:
You should count all sorts of
people as more significant than you.
870
:
Not just your friends, not just people
that will love you back, but anyone.
871
:
For even the Son of Man, right, even
the King of Kings came not to be
872
:
served, but to serve and to give His
life as a ransom for many, right?
873
:
Jesus came to give.
874
:
He gave Himself for you.
875
:
Didn't have to, right?
876
:
You didn't ask Him, Jesus,
to come die for you.
877
:
Right?
878
:
You didn't ask God to, to make
salvation available to you
879
:
But Jesus came to give, right?
880
:
And so maybe you're like, "Well, I'm
not really that prideful, you know.
881
:
I'm, I'm a nice person."
882
:
Um, but maybe the reason you're nice
is so people are nice to you, right?
883
:
That's really you being selfish then.
884
:
You're nice because you're, you're selfish
885
:
Or maybe, you know, you're someone
who you're always harsh with people.
886
:
Your words, your tone, you're
always, you're always harsh.
887
:
You're always grumpy.
888
:
You always sound like
you don't like people.
889
:
Or maybe you're someone who
you, you always find problems
890
:
with everyone and everything.
891
:
Right?
892
:
That's probably because
you're, you're proud
893
:
Or maybe you're someone who,
uh, you're like a, you really
894
:
care about how things look.
895
:
You don't really care about
how things really are.
896
:
Right?
897
:
You just wanna look
good in front of people.
898
:
You just, you just want people to, to
see you and be like, "Oh, yeah, they,
899
:
they dress really well," or, "They,
they know a lot," or, "They're really
900
:
smart," or, "They're really athletic."
901
:
You, you just wanna … You do
it because you wanna be seen.
902
:
Or maybe you even do
religious things for that.
903
:
You, you serve at church, or you,
you memorize the Bible, or you
904
:
answer questions in small groups
'cause you wanna be seen, right?
905
:
'Cause you care more about how
things look than how things are.
906
:
Right?
907
:
That's a proud person.
908
:
And that's how … that's, that's the
type of person that doesn't confess
909
:
their sin, like we talked about
earlier, 'cause they're too scared
910
:
about messing up how things look
that they hide how things really are.
911
:
Right?
912
:
That's a sign of being proud.
913
:
Maybe you're really defensive.
914
:
Right?
915
:
You're gonna talk about this, I
think some of you, in small groups.
916
:
A good sign of how humble you are is how
easily it is for you to be corrected,
917
:
for someone to say, "Hey, I notice
this about you, and it's not good."
918
:
If you're a proud person, you're
gonna get defensive really fast.
919
:
"Oh, but, uh, uh, I don't really like you.
920
:
I don't wanna talk to you anymore," right?
921
:
That's what proud people do, right?
922
:
Where humble people, they're not
afraid to be disliked, right?
923
:
They don't rise or fall on,
on people's opinions of them.
924
:
They're, they're really
loose with their preferences.
925
:
They're not like, "Oh,
it has to be this way.
926
:
I can't believe y- y- you do it this way.
927
:
It's so dumb.
928
:
Why do you do that?"
929
:
Or humble people, they're always
ready to give, whether it's
930
:
they're really generous, right?
931
:
They'd rather see you be
happy than them be happy.
932
:
They love when other
people succeed, right?
933
:
When someone else gets the spot on
the team that you wanted, or when
934
:
someone else gets the grade that…
935
:
Or, or the, the person, right,
that you wanted to have.
936
:
Are you happy for that person,
or you wish you had it?
937
:
Good test of how humble you are
938
:
So humility, right, is all about
how you see the world, right?
939
:
It starts with how you see God, right?
940
:
Do I see God as God, or do I see God as
941
:
meh?
942
:
And then that shapes how you see yourself.
943
:
If, if God is God, you're not.
944
:
Right?
945
:
And so then you say, "You know what?
946
:
I, I'm a s- I'm sinful.
947
:
I disobey God.
948
:
I need God.
949
:
I'm helpless without God.
950
:
My own way isn't the best way.
951
:
In fact, it's really bad."
952
:
And then you realize, you know what?
953
:
If God is God and, and I'm me and,
and I'm a sinner, then I wanna
954
:
live His way, so I trust Him.
955
:
And then you see, oh, well,
God's way to live is really
956
:
that you give yourself away.
957
:
You give yourself for the good of others.
958
:
And so then you don't really worry
about yourself so much, and you
959
:
start worrying about other people,
and you, you show up to, to things
960
:
thinking about, "Who can I…
961
:
How can, how can I help people?"
962
:
Right?
963
:
"How can I encourage people?
964
:
How can I bless people?"
965
:
Or maybe, "How can I correct someone?"
966
:
Not because you wanna be right,
but because you wanna help them.
967
:
So it's all about how
you see things, right?
968
:
You, you gotta see God as God, you gotta
see yourself as, as you, and you gotta see
969
:
other people as more important than you.
970
:
So let's pray, and we'll talk about
that more in small groups, okay?
971
:
Father, we want to right
now just acknowledge that
972
:
you are God and we're not.
973
:
That you are everything you say you are,
and everything you say about us is true.
974
:
And so I pray that you give us the
humility to embrace that, to not
975
:
push back against what you have to
say, but to take you at your word.
976
:
And I pray that you help us to grow
into people who are focused on others,
977
:
who really care about other people,
who love other people, who want
978
:
what's best for other people, even
more than what we want for ourselves.
979
:
So even right now, as we go to
small groups, help us to be humble.
980
:
Help us to be thoughtful about other
people, be thinking about, about
981
:
how we can serve you and serve them.
982
:
And I pray that you help us to rely
on you and not rely on ourselves.
983
:
We pray this in Jesus' name.
984
:
Amen.
