Introduction: Have you ever noticed that what the world thinks is usually the opposite of the way God thinks? "My ways are higher than your ways" God says.  Marriage and money are two examples of how the world's perspective is different from God's. The world tells you that if you are not happy in your marriage then get out of it and find somebody else.  Guess what?  Many Christians have done just that - jumping ship when things are not going their way.  The world says to make money any way you can, even if it means cheating and lying to get what you want.  You are told that you can get ahead in life if  you will follow the world’s standard and path to riches. Guess what?  Many Christians have swallowed that one hook, line, and sinker.  How does the world tell you to get ahead in life? "Go for it," "Just do it," and other slogans. The world says do what you need to do in order to get ahead.  What does God say? God says just the opposite. This one verse gives us the true way for a person to get ahead in life!

 

This passage is also for each one here who has gone through a very humbling experience and has wondered why they have had to go through it.  God teaches us in every situation of life.

 

I. The Principle that James Stresses . . . "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord . . ."

Illustration: Years ago there was a contest in the London Times asking readers to respond to the question "What is wrong with this world?" The winner was the writer G.K. Chesterton who wrote: "Dear sirs, I am. Yours faithfully, G.K. Chesterton." How many people really believe that?

 

What is wrong in your life today?  Do you have any problems?  Share your troubles.  How would you respond - is it others or is it me?

 

A. This humbling is passive in nature. . . literally "be humbled in the sight of the Lord."

 

1. The verb “humble” can be either passive or middle in voice.  We’ll first look at what it means if understood from the passive voice. In the passive voice it can be translated “be humbled”.  The humbling is from God and we should allow Him to do this in us.  James is saying, "Allow yourself to be humbled by God." God often does this with the difficult situations of life.

 

2. Humility is a gift. God is in the business of humbling His people; causing them to be dependent on Him.

Ÿ         We shouldn’t fight against God in the humbling experience.  All to often we cry out to God that this is isn’t fair what He is taking us through.  We start demanding that God remove us from this troubling situation rather than letting God finish what He so lovingly wants to see accomplished in us by the humbling experience.

Ÿ         Sometimes God uses another believer to humble us and we need what they tell us or point out to us.  We had better look close at our heart and see if what they are saying is true, and if it is, confess it and move on.

Ÿ         We should learn from these humbling experiences. If we don’t learn it the first time God may take back to the school of hard knocks to make sure we learn the lessons He wants us to learn. Don't waste these experiences.

 

3. What is it that is happening in your life that is humbling you? Do you see God at work through this experience in your life? Are you resisting or submitting to the humiliation that God is bringing into your life?

 

B. This humbling is personal (yourselves). . . "humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord."

1. It is not our business to worry about the pride in another and their lack of humility. The other person’s lack of humility may affect us in various ways, for the opposite of humility is pride and pride gets in everyone’s way.  Yet we should be focusing our attention on our own problem with pride and a lack of humility before pointing it out in another.  This is the thought behind the middle voice of the verb “humble”

 

2. Remember how our Lord put it in Matthew 7:3-5: And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but

considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

 

3. We will be farther ahead in our walk with the Lord if we would spend more time looking inwardly than outwardly!  Do you agree with that statement?  We should be looking very closely at our own life to see if we are really living the Christian life with this attitude of humility.  We would like to think that we are humble, but are we really?  Is there some way of measuring whether or not we are growing in humility or not?  I think there is and it is found right here in this text of scripture in James 4.

 

 

4. Notice once again what James writes in James 4:6-9: Submit to God; Resist the Devil; Draw nigh to God; Cleanse your hands and purify your heart; Be afflicted and mourn.  This sounds like a process that, if followed with all our heart, will result in us learning and practicing humility before God and others.  Are you and I doing what James 4:6-9 tells us?

 

5. Quote: D.L. Moody used to say: "Be Humble Or You'll Stumble"  That is so true and probably every one of us here have found that quote to be true.

 

6. It is insightful to see how the great apostle Paul considered himself and describes himself. 

·          I am the least of the apostles. - 1 Corinthians 15:9 - 59 AD

·          I am the least of all the saints. - Ephesians 3:8 - 63 AD

·          I am the chief of sinners. - 1 Timothy 1:15 - 64 AD

 

7. Did you notice that as more time went on Paul saw less and less of himself, and more and more of Christ?  Do you think we should follow his pattern?  I think so.

 

8. Illustration: Dr. Harry Ironside was once convicted about his lack of humility. A friend recommended as a remedy, that he march through the streets of Chicago wearing a sandwich board, shouting the scripture verses on the board for all to hear. Dr. Ironside agreed to this venture and when he returned to his study and removed the board, he said “I’ll bet there’s not another man in town who would do that.”

 

C. This humbling is also very practical...not just for church

1. Whether you are at home, at school, at work, or simply with friends, God is at work. Remember that the next time you get embarrassed or ashamed; allow it to happen! In other words, rather than despairing in your circumstances, rather than lashing out at those around you -- be strengthened in what the Lord is doing in your life!

 

2. Check out Matthew 18:4 for the practical and beneficial result of having a humble attitude Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

3. Matthew 23:12 says, And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

 

4. Who should be our example of allowing humbling experiences to be worked out in our life?  Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, of course. Paul writes in Phil. 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled  (brought low) himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 

5. James has already given us another practical reason why we should obey God and humble ourselves before Him, others, and the experiences He brings into our lives.  It is found in James 4:6 - “but giveth grace to the humble.”

 

6. It appears to me that God has given us plenty of reasons why it is very practical and beneficial to humble ourselves and to be humbled.

 

7. Before we move on to the second part of this verse I think it needs to be said that the phrase “in the sight of the Lord” carries the thought that every humble word or action on our part is seen by God.  It may or may not be seen by others, but it is always noted by God.  That means when we are humbled or humble ourselves before others this is acceptable to God.

 

(Like many of the commands that God gives to us, there is also a promise provided for those who will obey His command to be humble)

 

II. The Promise That Is Stated . . . "and He shall lift you up."

This is the way to really get ahead.  The literal rendering of the Greek here would be “and he will exalt you.”  This is also how the word is translated in 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

 

A. It is a conditional promise. . .

1. The word "and" connects the promise to the principle.  If you do this I will do this for you - conditional.

 

2. There is no exaltation of a person by God until there is the willingness to be humble. This is exactly what Jesus taught while on this earth.  Luke 14:11 says, For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

 

3. We also need to remember that when God does some form of exalting or lifting us up, we had better stay humble. 

 

4. Illustration: Alex Haley, the late author of Roots, had a unique picture in his office. Framed on his wall was a shot of a turtle sitting on top of a fence post. Haley prized the picture because it was a constant reminder of a lesson he had learned long ago: "If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help. Any time I start thinking, 'Wow, isn't this marvelous what I've done!' I look at that picture and remember how this turtle, me, got up on that post." If you're sitting on a fence post enjoying the view, remember, you had help!

 

5. For the child of God, the one who put them on the fence to enjoy the view is God Himself.  We had better never forget that God is the One who exalts us, not we ourselves.

 

B. It is a powerful promise. . . "and he shall lift you up."

1. On Thursday I spent a number of hours under Timothy’s car working on the exhaust system so the car could be inspected.  Like many of you, I have a floor jack that easily lifts the weight of the car so I can put supports under the car to make working under it safer and easier.  There is no way I could lift the car, but with the simple movement of my arm up and down while holding onto the jack handle, I was able to lift the car up.  That is great power in the form of a jack.

 

2. We need to understand that we can never truly exalt ourselves, or lift ourselves up in the way God wants, unless we allow Him to do the lifting up.  That makes this a powerful promise.

 

3. Martin Luther once said, "It is God's nature to make something out of nothing, that is why He cannot make anything out of him who is not yet nothing." We must be nothing before we can be something in God's sight.  What a powerful truth.

 

C. It is a present promise. . . "and he shall lift you up."

1. The word translated "lift you up" is the word "hupsei." Figuratively it means to be raised to a position of blessing and dignity. God puts the humbled child ahead.

 

2. Some have considered that this promise is yet future, for heaven.  Matthew Henry, the great commentary writer wrote: "The highest honor in heaven will be the reward of the greatest humility on earth." That’s true but we miss much if we designate this honor to heaven only.  We can know the lifting up of God on this earth now if we humble ourselves.

 

3. Illustration: Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of the truth that God exalts those who are humble. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace.

 

After Mr. Washington left, a little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady. The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. “It’s perfectly all right, Madam,” he replied. “Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it’s always a delight to do something for a friend.” She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart.

 

Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

 

Conclusion: This message has been mainly directed at those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, but I believe this verse can also be understood and applied to what needs to take place in a person’s life before they are saved and forgiven of all their sins.  A sinner must first see themselves as God sees them - a lost, depraved sinner on their way to Hell.  It takes humility to accept what God says is true about us.  Are you here today and you know that you are not prepared for eternity.  You know that you have never humbled yourself before God and admitted that He is right about your sins?  If you will confess your sins to Him and accept the free gift of salvation, God promises to lift you up, to raise you to a new life in Him, to give you eternal life.  What will you do with Him today?

 

Believers, the passage is direct at you and I.  Are we obeying this command of God, or are we deceiving ourselves and fooling ourselves about how humble we really are?  The proof is in the pudding!  We can’t tell God and others how humble we are.  If we have to then we aren’t! 

 

Is there some area of your life that needs to be turned over to Him today - some area of pride that is preventing you from obeying God’s command here to be humble before Him and others?  Don’t think and look at others whom you believe need to have an attitude adjustment - look at yourself.