VF: 7 The Requirements of Visionary Faith II

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Chapter 7 **The Requirements of Visionary Faith II**

Humility

Table of Topics

A) The Importance of Humility

B) The Meaning of humility: living according to an accurate understanding of who we are in relation to God

C) How God Humbles Us: the wilderness

C.1) Wildernesses in Scripture

C.2) My personal wilderness

D) How We Humble Ourselves: serving people & prayer

E) The Promise of Humility: exaltation

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

Humility is living according to an accurate understanding of who we are in relation to God.
Humility is understanding that we are the most exalted and blessed people on Earth because of what God has done for us.
In order for God to be glorified in your life before people, you need to be glorified before people. This requires humility.
All of the humble & fruitful men in Scripture seem to have one thing in common: They spent time in a wilderness.
What leaders in Scripture did not spend time in deserts? Guys like Saul, Samson, and all of the Israelite kings except David. And they were all great embarrassments to God.
One of the primary obstacles to successful ministry is that we have not failed enough.
It is not our seminaries, studies, and successes that provide the kind of deserts that humble a man. It is the deserts of life.
Like love, our humility toward God is never greater than our humility toward people.
There is one primary way that we exercise such humility with people. We serve them.
We must be faithful in the responsibilities we have now, if we are to expect God to give us more responsibility.

A) The Importance of Humility

When something is repeated in the Bible three times, we should take notice. This is certainly the case with the statement: “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet 5:5; cf. Prov 3:24; Jms 4:6). God’s grace is what we vitally need to see our visionary faith fulfilled. And God only promises it to the humble. While we have discussed the need for hard work and holiness, perhaps the reason we devote more space to humility is that if you have it, the others will probably follow.

Humility is especially important if we desire to glorify God. Our central text tells us that the reason for pursuing a visionary faith is:

Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of you, and you will be honored along with Him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess 1:12).

Do you see that God wants to glorify you? Why? Because in order for God to be glorified in your life before people, you need to be glorified before people. Any great man who brought earthly glory to God, was highly revered and exalted by people around them. When God blesses us, when He uses us, we are glorified. And it is at this point that we have the opportunity to publicly glorify God.

But the text says, “all made possible because of the grace of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ”. It is by God’s grace that we will glorify Him. And yet in the process of glorifying God we can become proud because people are looking up to us. And our pride will hinder God’s grace to be glorified because He is opposed to the proud. As we endeavor to glorify God we must remain humble so that we have the grace to glorify God.

Back to an earlier point. If we are to glorify God publicly, then we will be glorified publicly. Accordingly, at the beginning of Joshua’s ministry of leadership we read: “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they will know that I am with you as I was with Moses’” (Josh 3:7). Again, there is some amount of unavoidable glorification of God’s leaders if they are to glorify Him and have the trust and respect of the people. However, even though Joshua was exalted by God to even the level of Moses, we never sense in the biblical record that he ever became proud about it.

Unfortunately, too many glorified ministers of God forget “We now have this light of knowing Jesus Christ shining in our hearts, but we are like clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Cor 4:7).

When we remember that God said, “I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols” (Isa 42:8), we can understand His reluctance to fulfill our visionary faith if it will simply make us proud. On the other hand, God is willing to glorify us in order to glorify Him. He is not willing to give anyone His glory, but there is a glory that belongs to us, and we may even need in order to fulfill a ministry that would glorify Him. Joshua needed to be glorified in the eyes to the people in order for him to lead them.

If we are humble, our cry can be that of Christ Himself Who prayed while on Earth: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son will glorify You” (John 17:1). He was referring to the cross, not to fame, but hopefully “the time [will] come” in our own lives for God to glorify us that we may glorify Him. ^[1]

B) The Meaning of Humility: living according to an accurate understanding of who we are in relation to God

There is a great deal of confusion in the Church regarding what humility is. Humility is simply living according to an accurate understanding of who we are in relation to God. On one hand, we are “God’s chosen, holy, and dearly loved people” (Col 3:12). God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ” (Eph 1:3), and we, “have been made completely full through Christ” (Col 2:10). We are the most honored, exalted, important, and cherished people on Earth. Not in the eyes of mere people, but according to the Almighty Creator and Ruler of the Universe.

Not only do we possess a lofty position, but a great power. Accordingly, the Apostle prayed, “All glory to God, Who is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ask or imagine through the power at work in us. Glory to the Father in the Church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen” (Eph 3:20). Indeed, the glory belongs to Him, but “the power” is “in us” through which we are now “able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ask or imagine.” That is a lot of power. It’s from God, but is still ours.

In other words, no mere human being could ascend to more greatness than the greatness we have been given. Accordingly, Webster’s definition of humble as “insignificant” is an inadequate but too popular understanding of humility. In other words, thinking too little of ourselves is not humility.

On the other hand, the Apostle writes: “Do not be conceited. Instead, reasonably evaluate yourself” (Rom 12:3). Arrogance, for sure, is the antithesis of humility.

What then is the balance? Humility is believing that we are the most exalted and blessed people on Earth because of what God has done for us. It is “self-made” men who think they have reason to be proud. No right thinking Christian leader will ever believe that his salvation, relationships, possessions, gifts, and ministry are his own doing. We know all of this is from God. But we also know all of this is great. God has made us great. That is the foundational conviction of humility. And we miss humility if we do not understand how great He has made us, or that it is He Who has made us so great.

The theology of humility is clearly taught by Christ when on one hand He says, “Without Me you are not able to do anything” (John 15:5). Without the power, grace, and blessing of Christ we can do nothing that is good or worthwhile in the sight of God which is the only opinion that will ever matter.

But on the other hand, Jesus said, “If you continue to live in Me and I continue to live in you then you will produce much spiritual fruit . . . My Father is glorified when you produce much spiritual fruit and it proves you are My followers . . . I chose you and appointed you to go and produce spiritual fruit that will last” (John 15:5, 8, 16).

Humility does not mean that we do only a little with our life because we are weak people. Humility means we “produce much spiritual fruit” so the “Father is glorified” because we are connected to and empowered by Jesus.

An even more succinct statement reflecting the essence of humility is Paul’s claim, “I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). The Apostle is not shy or doubtful about who He is. He says, with less exaggeration than many might think, “I can do anything.” But he knows full well that kind of strength must come from Christ.

Humility then is an honest recognition of our very great position and power, with an honoring recognition of Who gave us these things.

C) How God Humbles Us: the wilderness

C.1) Wildernesses in Scripture

All of the humble and fruitful men in Scripture seem to have one thing in common: They spent time in a wilderness.

This is obviously true of Moses. We meet him as a young man in the following text:

One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them doing their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing around and seeing that no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (Exod 2:11-12)

Moses had a burden. A good burden. He was greatly concerned about “his own people.” God’s people. He wanted to help. But the pride we discussed above caused him to take matters into his own hands, and he ended up failing miserably. Surely he thought he could use his high position and great power in the royal family to help the Hebrews. But God needed to teach Moses that God’s grace upon a humble man is a lot more powerful than any earthly position. And teach him He did.

Moses fled from Egyptian royalty to Midian, where he described himself as “a foreigner in a foreign land” (Exod 2:22). After 40 years of shepherding sheep (cf. Acts 7:30), we find him at “the far side of the wilderness [midbar]” (Exod 3:1). The Hebrew word midbar is derived from dābar which means “to speak.” ^[2] We are not surprised then that it was “there” in the midbar that “the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses” and God first spoke to him (v. 2). And it is through our own deserts and wildernesses of life, our midbar experiences, that God “speaks” to us in life changing ways. Is it perhaps because such places make us more sensitive to, and thirsty for, God’s word?

It was here, on the back side of the desert, that Moses was ready to lead God’s people. But even after he became a leader his ministry was in a desert for another 40 years (cf. Acts 7:36). It was during this time that we read: “Moses was a very humble man. He was more humble than anyone else on the face of the Earth” (Num 12:3). Could that be because he spent 80 years living in deserts?

Who else is described in Scripture as spending considerable time in the wilderness before serving God in great ways? Moses’ successor Joshua shared 40 years in the desert with Moses.

Likewise, for much of his twenty’s, “David stayed in the desert [midbar] strongholds and in the hills of the Desert [midbar] of Ziph” where “Day after day Saul searched for him” to kill him (1 Sam 23:14).

John the Baptist, “lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel” (Luke 1:80).

Likewise, after His baptism and before His public ministry, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil” (Luke 4:1-2).

The Apostle Paul seems to have spent some time in seclusion in the wilderness as well, rather soon after his conversion. He writes in Galatians:

When God . . . was pleased to reveal His Son in me . . . I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were Apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia. (1:15-17)

Obviously, “Arabia” was a vast land, but it was definitely known for its deserts as it is today. Our claim that the Apostle lived for some time in seclusion and isolation here is supported by the fact that 1) He implies this is where He received his revelation of the Gospel from Jesus, and not from any person, and 2) it was a death threat by the Jews and threat of capture by the governor of Damascus that drove him into “Arabia” (cf. Acts 9:23-25; 2 Cor 11:32-33). Both of these facts suggest that he experienced some seclusion during the time spent in “Arabia.” ^[3]

Why did all of these great servants of God spend time in deserts? The same reason the whole Israelite nation spent forty years in the desert. God explained:

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert [midbar] these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. . . .

He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. ¹⁶ He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the LORD your God, for it is He Who gives you the ability to produce wealth. (Deut 8:2-18)

What is it about deserts that is so good for preparing a person to be used by God? They are humbling places. They are quiet places. They are lonely places. God leads us into deserts, (whether they be the physical, circumstantial, or spiritual kind), to “humble you and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you” (Deut 8:16).

God leads us into deserts “to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (v. 3). Difficult, painful places teach us to depend on God because we have no other choice. They teach us to trust God because He comes through (v. 4, “Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years”).

Deserts “discipline” (v. 5) us, purifying our ego. They prepare us for the blessing and glory that may be necessary to fulfill our ministry for Him, because otherwise we will not be able to handle it. Physical deserts bring us to the end of civilization. Spiritual deserts bring us to the end of ourselves. Which is where we must be before it is safe for God to bless us.

Otherwise when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, Who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (vs. 12-14)

Without experiencing God in tremendous difficulties, you will be especially tempted to “say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me” (v. 17).

The kinds of deserts that God may lead us into and through can be pretty scary, a “vast and dreadful desert . . . thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions” (v. 15). But it is only in places like that, that you see God provide “you water out of hard rock” and “manna to eat in the desert,” giving you the kind of undeniable evidence you need to build your faith in God. After the desert, you are not limited to reading the Scriptures to know that you can trust God—you know it from personal experience.

Which prompts the question: What leaders in Scripture did not spend time in deserts? Guys like Saul, Samson, and all of the Israelite kings except David. And what did they generally do with the power, glory, and ministries God gave them? Serve and glorify God? No- they were all great embarrassments to God, just like too many Church leaders today. And perhaps it is because they never spent time in a wilderness. Have you?

The author was talking with a man in his younger thirties who expressed his desire to be in ministry. He was asked to describe the times he had failed in his life. After some thought he replied he couldn’t think of any. I replied he probably hadn’t failed enough to be in ministry. A lack of failure is one of the primary obstacles to successful ministry, because without it, we probably will not be humble enough. And we may have a difficult time empathizing with those who are hurting and need grace. But not if we have “been there” and experienced the same pain, doubts, anger and grace.

It is not our seminaries, studies, and successes that provide the kind of deserts that humble a man, make him learn dependence on God, teach him to trust God, and convince him who God is and who he is in relation to God. It is the wildernesses of life. And a man who has responded correctly in such deserts in his life is miles ahead of others as an instrument for God’s purposes.

Age itself can have a way of humbling us. Imagine the difference between the perspectives of an aged, successful, and spiritually mature Pastor compared to a young one who is just starting out. The young Pastor is apt to think he needs to prove something, both to himself and others. His “vision” is probably to accomplish something that will mean personal success for him. He may work at a frantic pace, prioritizing tasks over relationships. The young man is greatly tempted to have his identity and sense of self-worth tied up in the observable fruit of his ministry. There will be far too much focus on himself.

Not the old Pastor. He looks back on his life with a great sense of satisfaction as he sees all that God did for him and through him. At the beginning of his ministry career, he would not have imagined how good God would be to him. He knows he has nothing to prove to anyone. He has done his best and God did the rest. He knows that relationships are far more important than tasks, and it is those friendships that he cherishes much more than anything he accomplished. He would be content to simply retire and go golfing and fishing if God gave him permission to do so. But his conscience won’t let him. He has too much to offer others. What excites him the most is offering himself to make others successful. He already feels successful beyond what he had ever hoped for.

How wonderful it would be if a young Pastor would believe what the old Pastor believes, being convinced of their Christ-centered sense of security and significance. These are the kinds of ministers that the Apostle Peter was encouraging when he wrote them:

Now a word to you who are Elders in the churches. I am also an Elder and even a personal witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I will also share in the glory that will be revealed. I appeal to you: Shepherd the flock of people God has entrusted to you. Accept responsibility for their care. Do this not because you have to, but because you want to, as God wants. Do not Pastor because you are greedy for money but because you are eager to serve. Do not make people submit to you as their master, but lead them by your example. (1 Pet 5:1-3) ^[4]

Young men might serve they feel they “have to” for the sake of their own sense of significance. On the other hand, mature ministers understand the incredibly high responsibility and privilege it is to “Shepherd the flock of people God has entrusted to you.” But because of their humility, they “Do not make people submit to [them] as their master, but lead them by [their] example.” Their flock is not a means to accomplish personal greatness, but a people they are “eager to serve.” Such ministers are not driven to be a Shepherd by greed or any other selfish ambition to make themselves secure and significant, but they desire to if God has made it clear He wants them in that role.

C.2) My Personal Wilderness

May I briefly describe a personal wilderness I experienced? I graduated from college in 1989, married a wonderful woman, and was eager to serve God. I wanted to go into campus ministry but had to raise my financial support. The problem was that I didn’t know very many Christians with money. After 14 months of extremely hard and difficult work, asking strangers for money, I finally found enough people to financially support me and my family and entered into full time ministry. And then over the next six months saw very little fruit. After sharing the Gospel several days a week over these months I can only remember one Chinese kid who prayed with me, and then I lost his contact information and never saw him again.

By that time, a significant number of my original supporters were ending their two year commitment to me and I needed to go back to support raising. I couldn’t. It just wasn’t in me. I resigned.

Having a business degree, I set out to find a job. I didn’t find any. I settled for working at a mylar balloon distribution company filling orders. I was soon fired because I made too many mistakes. My next job was selling advertising for a Christian radio station. I lasted longer, but didn’t make any money. My next job was selling hot tubs for a place called Whirling Waters. It wasn’t long before one day the owner threatened to fire me because I couldn’t get the chemicals in the hot tubs right.

Shortly after this I remember going to a church and praying, “God, if you let me lose this job, I don’t know how I can trust you.” The very next morning I was fired.

I remember getting home late one night during that time and walking into my daughter Joelle’s bedroom, and watching her sleep in her crib. And I remember seriously wondering if I was going to be able to provide for her. My confidence in both God and myself was gone.

The best “vision” I could muster for my life was to be a manager in a grocery store. Working in one had been my favorite job in high school. I figured I could reach out to young people there since it didn’t look like I was going to have any other kind of ministry. Many times I travelled an hour to visit a particular grocery company that had a training program, asking them to accept me. I thought persistence would pay off. It never did. They kept saying “no.”

My spirit was as low as it had ever been in my life. I spent a lot of time crying out to God. I became rather convinced that this was about all God had for me. He had put me on the shelf. I wondered, what had I done wrong? Was this punishment for resigning from the campus ministry and not doing the hard work of raising more support?

The one verse I hung on to was 1 Peter 5:10: “After you have suffered for a short time, God Himself will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” I just didn’t know how long “a short time” would be. For me it was about 9 months. Three jobs, three failures, and a whole bunch of “no’s” in 9 months. It felt like 9 years.

Then one day I was talking with a business man I had met during my Christian radio advertising job. He mentioned that he had just returned from a seminar where he was informed that the government was radically increasing fines for safety violations. He thought it would make a great business if someone could learn the regulations and help businesses comply with them.

Only because I did not think I had any other options, I gave it a try. I studied thick, obscure government manuals for many, many hours. Overtime I developed some services. I approached a small building contractor and told him what I was doing. He asked, “What would you charge for that?” Having no idea, I did the smart thing and asked, “What would you pay for it?” I don’t remember what he said, but it was about three times as much as I was going to ask for.

It took me about 3 months to service that first client. I still had to develop several things I had sold him. But 6 months later I was servicing about three clients a week, making about $200 an hour. I remember the first time I made $10,000 in one month. I remember it because the previous year I had made only $11,000 the whole year. Over 70% of the businesses I approached with my services purchased them, even though I continued to increase my prices. I had no competition.

About 9 months after being fired from Whirling Waters and reaching my low point, one of the largest cereal companies in the world hired me. After servicing one of their plants they were so pleased that they wanted to have me service several of their plants. s

About the same time, the grocery store company I had tried so desperately to be hired by, purchased my services. About 7 years after being fired at the balloon distribution company, the owner offered me a large sum of money to franchise my company. And there was no doubt in my mind that this was all from God.

D) How We Humble Ourselves: serving people & prayer

As described above, certainly God uses circumstances to humble us. But even in those circumstances we must choose to humble ourselves. Otherwise those same events will hurt us instead of humble us. Humility is a choice. Accordingly the Apostle Peter writes:

Young men, respect the authority of the elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. This is because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under God’s caring power so that He will exalt you at the right time. (1 Pet 5:5-6) ^[5]

“Respect the authority of the elders . . . clothe yourselves with humility . . . humble yourselves.” Humility is a choice.

How do we know if we are being humble? Peter equates humility before God with humility before people. To “humble yourselves under God’s caring power” is to “respect the authority of the elders,” and to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” Like love, our humility toward God is never greater than our humility toward people. Our humility with people we can see, is how we are humble toward the God we cannot see.

There is one primary way that we exercise such humility with people: we serve them. Jesus spoke of this kind of humble leadership when He taught:

“You know that the rulers of the pagans make themselves masters over their people and those in high positions use their authority over them. Do not be like this among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. This is just like the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:25-28)

Jesus is not opposed to “whoever wants to become great.” Greatness and significance is, in fact, a central God-given need in humans. ^[6] But He greatly desires to redefine greatness and what will truly fulfill us. It is being a “servant,” a “slave,” not being “served” but to “serve others,” even to “give” your “life” for them. When you are joyfully living like a slave to people, you know you are humble. Humble greatness may seem to many a contradiction, but it is the biblical definition of success.

Related to serving is the fact that faithfulness to our responsibilities exhibits humility. There is a divine principle at work in our lives that cannot be ignored. Jesus said, “The one who is faithful in something very insignificant, will also be faithful with something of great importance. And the one who is dishonest in a very little thing will be dishonest in great things” (Luke 16:10). ^[7]

When we are focused and energized on doing “great” things for God in the future, we are tempted to neglect and diminish the “insignificant” things in our life now. God wants to grow us in being able to take on more responsibility. But He will require us to be faithful in the responsibilities we have now. These will include our marriage, our children, our friends, our church, our job, our finances, and our time.

If we are not doing all that God would have us to in these realms of life, we cannot expect God to give us ministry beyond them. It is, in fact, our exceptional example in these very things that will be an essential foundation for whatever ministry you do for God.

David communicated this same principle with a promise when he wrote: “Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and practice faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps 37:3-4). As you “do good” where God has put you, and “practice faithfulness” in your responsibilities and experience a “delight” in your friendship with God, “He will give you the desires of your heart.” This is because your “delight” in God will make your “desires” His desires, and your faithfulness in your current situation will prepare you to handle more blessing.

Another vital way that we humble ourselves and therefore receive supernatural grace is prayer. In prayer we are admitting to ourselves, God, and others that we are attempting something beyond ourselves and that we need God. Proud men do not pray. Humble men do. A lot.

The Apostle Peter notes another area of humility that might be missed. He writes: “Humble yourselves under God’s caring power, so that He exalt you at the right time. Throw all your cares on God because He cares about you” (1 Pet 5:6-7). Trusting God with our worries is a demonstration of humility toward Him. When we are worried it is because we are trusting and depending on ourselves too much. Along these lines, C. J. Mahaney writes:

The apostle Peter clearly and practically describes for us how we can humble ourselves daily in 1 Peter 5:6–7. . . . When we humble ourselves each morning by casting all our cares on the Lord, we will start the day free of care. The humble are genuinely care free. I’ve discovered how true that is about myself and my soul. Where there’s worry, where there’s anxiousness, pride is at the root of it. When I am experiencing anxiety, the root issue is that I’m trying to be self-sufficient. I’m acting independent of God. ^[8]

Finally, getting counsel on decisions from your spouse, fellow leaders, and others is an important sign of humility and should be a habit. “A fool thinks his own way is right, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15).

E) The Promise of Humility: exaltation

Above, we noted the tremendous humility of Christ described in an ancient Christian song recorded in Philippians. However, we did not quote the whole song. The complete lyrics are as follows:

Jesus Christ existed in the form of God and did not think that equality with God was something to be grasped. Instead He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming the likeness of humans, and appearing as a man. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name. This is so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in Heaven and on the Earth and under the Earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:6-11)

This is the story of Christ. From humility to glory. God wants this to be our story as well. To humble ourselves now in this life on Earth, standing on the position and using the power God gave us, to serve others, so that God may exalt us, perhaps in this life, but more importantly, in the next eternal one.

Not surprisingly, Jesus said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 23:12). This is because a man who has humbled himself is ready for exaltation because we will desire it only as it serves to give him more ability and opportunity to glorify God and serve people.

Along the same lines Peter wrote: “Humble yourselves under God’s caring power so that He will exalt you at the right time. ” (1 Pet 5:6). Here again is a promise of divine blessing and even exaltation. Only God knows when the “right time” will occur, and so we must trust Him with that. But the requirement of divine exaltation is that we humble ourselves.

Extras & Endnotes

Devotion to Dad

Our Father in Heaven, help us to be humble. Goodness, if God the Son can humble Himself, why can’t we? We commit to following in His path and humbling ourselves before people and God so we may bring You the most glory. Amen

Gauging Your Grasp

What is our definition of humility? Would you add to this in some way?
Why do we claim that our visionary faith may require us to be glorified?
What is one common experience of many of the men God greatly used in Scripture? What is God trying to tell us? Have you experienced this, and what did you learn from it?

Why do we claim that one of the primary obstacles to successful ministry is that we have not failed enough?
What is the primary way that we demonstrate humility?
Why is our humility toward God never greater than our humility toward people?
What are additional habits of humility?

Pastoral Perspectives

What spiritual authority has God placed in your life? How could you be more humble and supportive of it in order to demonstrate to God your humility and ability to be a leader yourself?
What God-given responsibilities do you need to be more faithful with so that God can trust you with more?
Have you had a wilderness experience? Journal it. Describe it. Remember it. Then meditate on it and record the lessons you learned from it, both about yourself and God.

Publications & Particulars

C. J. Mahaney reflects what we believe is a popular but unbiblical notion when he writes in his book Humility: True Greatness: “We’re to ascribe glory to no man. Glory is ascribed exclusively and entirely to God. . . . Therefore, only God should receive glory.” (Random House, 2008, Kindle Edition, 752-753). Again, God wants to give us the glory we deserve, and may even need to fulfill our ministry, and such glory will glorify God. ↑
The derivation of midbar (wilderness) from dābar (speak) is confirmed by the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, R. Laird Harris, Gleason Archer, Bruce K. Waltke, eds. (Moody, 1980), 178. Midbar is even translated once as “mouth” (Song 4:3). ↑
Dr. MacArthur comments, “The place and purpose of his sojourn in Arabia are unknown, but that was surely the place of his preparation for ministry.” (Commentary, Gal 1:15-17) ↑
“Accept responsibility for their care” trans. episkopountes “Accept responsibility for the care of someone, oversee” (BAGD). ↑
“God’s caring power” trans. the Eng. “God’s mighty hand.” “When this type of expression is used in the OT it generally speaks of God’s power to intervene for the sake of his people” (I. Howard Marshall, 1 Peter, 1991). ↑
Regarding Matthew 20:26-28 C. J. Mahaney comments:

What I find especially fascinating and instructive is that Jesus does not categorically criticize or forbid the desire and ambition to be great. Instead, He clearly redirects that ambition, redefines it, and purifies it. . . . It means turning upside down our entrenched, worldly ideas on the definition of greatness. . . .

As sinfully and culturally defined, pursuing greatness looks like this: Individuals motivated by self-interest, self-indulgence, and a false sense of self-sufficiency pursue selfish ambition for the purpose of self-glorification. Contrast that with the pursuit of true greatness as biblically defined: Serving others for the glory of God. This is the genuine expression of humility; this is true greatness as the Savior defined it. (Humility: True Greatness, Kindle Edition [Random House, 2008], 386-375. ↑
The common trans. of a contrast between “little” and “much” suggests quantity. But the contrast Jesus is speaking of concerns importance. “Unimportant” trans. elachistō “being considered of very little importance” (BAGD, #3). See use of same word in Luke 12:26; 19:17. “Great importance” trans. pollō “to be high on a scale of extent, great” (BAGD, #3). ↑
Mahaney, 692-698. ↑