Humility

[0:00] If you've got your Bibles, Proverbs 22. Proverbs 22. I was talking to someone this morning's service and I touched on the theme of humility and I thought to touch further on that tonight.

[0:15] ! Proverbs 22. Humility. I heard someone say, don't stumble, be humble.

[0:34] Don't stumble, be humble. Of course it's based on that scripture that says, a pride cometh before a fall. Doesn't it? Let's pray.

[0:47] Lord, we thank you for your word that we can humble ourselves to heed it and take action according to it. Lord, speak to us from it. Give us a word that we can act upon.

[1:01] Tell us what you want us to do, Lord, through your word. As I simply declared and I pray understood. Use my lacking ability, Lord, that you would be glorified.

[1:17] That above all things that we would see you tonight. In Jesus' name, Amen. Proverbs 22, it says, By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honour and life.

[1:31] By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honour and life. That's Proverbs 22, verse 4. There's blessing from humility.

[1:42] We go to Proverbs 15, verse 33. Just back a few pages there. Proverbs 15, verse 33. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom.

[1:56] And before honour is humility. I had to think twice this morning. Is honour before humility in the dictionary? No. But God says it is in practice.

[2:11] Before honour is humility. And we can see that God blesses humility with honour. God blesses humility with honour and life.

[2:24] We're going to take a look at the subject of humility. Being humble. Now, who's humble here tonight? No. We've got to pray for that, brother.

[2:35] He's got a pride problem. No. No, we know that in the middle of pride is I. In the middle of sin is I.

[2:47] We've got an I problem. Not an I problem, but an ego problem, haven't we? We all have. Well, I have. We all have that inclination. Sin.

[2:58] The middle letter is I. Pride. The middle letter is I. But God lives in the humble heart. The humble heart. So tonight I want to urge you to humble yourself.

[3:10] And pray. Humble yourself. And serve. And humble yourself. And witness. There's many repeating themes of humility through the word of God.

[3:22] And really, unless you humble yourself, you can't even be saved. We see that pictured in Matthew 18. Matthew 18.

[3:32] If you'd like to turn there. Matthew 18 from verse 3. The Lord Jesus is talking to a gathering there.

[3:44] And Jesus calls a little child to him and set him in the midst of them. And verse 3. And he said, Verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

[4:05] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. That's quite a picture, isn't it?

[4:16] Of this little child. That the Lord said that humility and that childlike faith, that smallness before him.

[4:27] This one is the greatest. Christian living. It can mean a shame job. It can mean extending yourself.

[4:38] Giving of yourself. Taking that humble place. Psalm 25 verse 9. It says that those who are humble, he will teach his way.

[4:49] Psalm 25 verse 9. It says the meek will he guide in judgment. And the meek will he teach his way. So if we can have that teachable spirit.

[5:01] We don't get to that place where I know everything. It's keeping that humility at heart, isn't it? Before God. Because we all can learn.

[5:13] And we'll ever be learning until we see his face. Then we'll know everything. Then everyone's doctrines will get straightened down. And they'll believe just like I do. So one day that will happen.

[5:24] When everyone gets to glory, of course. But of course I'm sure I've brought a few things to get straightened down to. But 1 Peter 5 verse 6. The first point I'd like to make tonight is humble yourself and pray.

[5:38] 1 Peter 5 verse 6. Prayer is so vital, isn't it? It's our lifeline. 1 Peter 5 verse 6.

[5:51] It says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. That he may exalt you in due time. Do we stop and pray? Do we humble ourselves and pray?

[6:03] We can get so self-sufficient, can't we? That prayer is kind of something we fit in. In our busy schedule. Or ordinates would be that the first thought should be to pray.

[6:15] To see God's will and way. To ask his wisdom. Prayer takes humility, doesn't it? Just to stop and reckon, well, I don't know everything.

[6:27] I need God's direction. I need God's leading. I need to seek his face and find where he wants me to go. What he wants me to do. And when we stop and humble ourselves and pray, it means that we acknowledge that we need some divine intervention.

[6:46] We need God to lead us and show us the way. It says, I need God to do the work in me, through me. We're depending on God. I like some of these little slogan type bracelets some Christians wear.

[7:02] There's one that says, F-R-O-G. Fully rely on God. We need to F-R-O-G, don't we? Fully rely on God.

[7:13] And prayer says that. It says, I depend on God. I rely on him. Get under his mighty hand. And he will give his overshadowing care thee. Rely upon his mercy.

[7:25] How we need to grow our dependency on our Lord. To lean on him, his strength, his supply. We need the Lord and his almighty power.

[7:36] Sometimes it seems when we're powerless, we're just not tapping into the almighty power of God. We're not tapping into his power. We're not relying upon his power.

[7:46] Humble ourselves under his mighty hand. And he will lift us up. He will exalt us. Without him, we're powerless to live the Christian life. Really, if we're doing it in our own strength, we'll always fail and falter.

[8:00] But rely upon him. Fully rely on God. Humble yourself and pray. Humble yourself and pray.

[8:13] Thinking of that scripture there, it says that of a nation. What's that one? When they shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face.

[8:26] Oh, there we go. See, I don't need to look it up in the concordance. Let's look that one up, shall we? Because that's so applicable too. 2 Chronicles 17.

[8:37] 7 verse 9, is it? 19. We'll find it there somehow. Thereabouts. Who's spiritual tonight?

[8:47] They might find it first. Yeah. You got it, brother? What was the reference, brother?

[9:05] That's 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14. Right. Everyone? Excuse me. Has everyone got that? If my people, 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14, shall humble themselves and pray.

[9:20] Go hand in hand, don't they? We'll humble ourselves and to pray. They're connected. They go together. Humble yourself and pray. Then will I hear from him.

[9:31] Praise God. Next one is humble yourself and serve. Humble yourself and serve. Now, when I got to church tonight, there was someone washing the dishes. I don't know.

[9:42] He must have been putting on a performance there. He must have just done that for my, I'd say, good on you, mate. No, no. He was very humble. He was very humble. Now, make him go bright red.

[9:53] But no. Humble yourself and serve. That's what we need to do, isn't it? You know, praise God for that. Sorry, brother. I just had to make an example of you. But good example. Humble yourself and serve.

[10:04] In James 4, verse 10, we see that one. James 4, verse 10. It says, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. What if we just find those humble places of service?

[10:18] You know, I thank God that I don't have to get here at 6.30 before the 7 o'clock service. Right, what am I saying? I'm a dear life saving man.

[10:29] No, don't have to get here at 5.30 to get everything set up because there's other people that are already here doing that. They humble themselves and serve.

[10:39] Amen. We need that in a church. I was just thinking today. I was scrambling to get here for 6 o'clock really because I was just running out of time. It's just not big. The weekend's just not long enough to get everything done.

[10:52] But who feels like that sometimes? But we know that we've got to humble ourselves and serve. Find that place of service. And I thank the Lord for those that do help in all of those practical ways to make the church run smoothly because it's impossible for me to do all of these things myself.

[11:12] And it's good for us all to put our, what does it say? We put our shoulder to the wheel and our nose to the grindstone or whatever it says. Sometimes people put it.

[11:23] Yeah, they put all the analogies together. It's kind of funny. But humble yourself and serve. Let's go to Luke 17 verse 10. Luke 17 verse 10.

[11:33] And the context here is the Lord's talking about a servant in relation to a master.

[11:54] And the context here is of the master speaking with the servant. And it's making the point that a servant has the role to serve.

[12:16] And a servant simply does that. That's the expectation of a servant. The expectation of a servant. And the servant really can't just call the shots or slack off.

[12:32] The context is of the servant serving faithfully and willingly and simply to serve and expecting nothing for it.

[12:46] And in Luke 17 verse 10, our Lord says, So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which I commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants.

[12:58] We have done that which was our duty to do. And it's not like one day we'll get to heaven and we'll expect some great fanfare or some great, you know, some over the top kind of reward.

[13:18] Because really we've just done that which was our duty to do. As God's people. And likewise on earth too, we shouldn't expect to get some great praise or applause from men.

[13:30] We should just simply serve. Faithfully serve. Humbly serve. Serve as a servant would serve. Because why? Because we've simply done that which was our duty to do.

[13:41] We are unprofitable servants. It's that sense of seeing yourself as a servant. Not expecting anything for it. Not expecting any acknowledgement from men.

[13:53] But simply serving because it is our glad duty to do that. If you're a Christian serving God in some capacity, you are just doing what is your duty to do.

[14:05] You don't need your name up in lights and some credentials to hang on your wall. Or just simply to hear the voice of your master and obey that voice and do your duty.

[14:18] That's ministry. Ministry. It's about being available and being used. To let God use you. And not to get too high an opinion of yourself in the process.

[14:31] Don't let it go to your head. Keep small. Keep small. A former heavyweight boxing champion boasted, I am the greatest.

[14:48] The apostle Paul boasted, I am the least. Paul, the word Paul means little. I am the least of the apostles.

[15:01] I am the least. It's interesting. I heard a story about Muhammad Ali. Where, I can't recall the exact words of it now.

[15:14] But he was kind of boasting about being like a bumblebee. Like a, yeah. Like a bumblebee. Like a bumblebee. Yeah. It stinks like a bumblebee. It stinks like a bumblebee. And he was kind of bragging on about how great he was.

[15:26] And he was getting on board a, I think he was getting on board an aeroplane. And the hostess says, oh, you know, Mr. Ali, can you fasten your seatbelt?

[15:38] He says, Superman don't need no seatbelt. But, um. Superman don't need no. Something like that. Superman doesn't need a plane. Yeah, that's right. She said, Superman doesn't need a plane.

[15:50] So he kind of put him in his place. He sort of put him down a peg or two. And, you know, we can get a swelled head, can't we? And we think we're so good. It's a real trap.

[16:00] And that's, sadly, we can make that mistake. And it's not a matter of seeking men's approval. Sometimes we'll go against the popular trend. And people will object.

[16:12] What matters most is it's about pleasing the Lord. That that is the main thing. We are unprofitable servants. We have done that, which was our duty to do.

[16:25] We're reporting for duty, sir, to our master, to our king and lord, our captain. Ministry will keep us humble.

[16:38] Ministry can sometimes be painful. Sometimes it can seem like an unrewarding task. Yet one day will be rewards day. There will be that glad reception.

[16:51] So for the meantime, be humble enough for God to be able to use you. Don't throw in the towel when the going gets tough as a Christian. Rather, take the towel and gird yourself.

[17:03] In John 13, we see our Lord, he took the towel and he girded himself. He wrapped it around himself and he stepped down and washed the disciples' feet as a common servant. As one of the lowest and most menial jobs of the time.

[17:19] And it's like our Lord wasn't high and mighty, was he? And how he lived when he went about life, reaching people where they were at, touching so many lives, touching the untouchable of the day.

[17:38] And just, he was so receptive to people, wasn't he? He just had something about him. I was thinking of late, how after he was resurrected, they didn't recognise him.

[17:55] People didn't recognise him. And there was a view that they thought he was just the gardener. They thought he was just the gardener. So you think he might have had his work clothes on or something. Or he just blended in.

[18:07] He just wasn't so high and mighty that he wasn't kind of resplendent in glorious, dazzling, royal robes or anything like that. That people mistook him for a gardener.

[18:17] So he had that humility, I would say. That speaks to me of how he must have projected some kind of humility that he wasn't making a great show of himself.

[18:30] Sometimes we have to come down a peg or two. Sometimes God lets the stuffing get knocked out of us. So we actually are brought to that humble place, to that place of humility.

[18:41] And that's a good thing for us. There's a story told in 1878 when William Booth's Salvation Army was beginning to make its mark. It was nearly formed around those times.

[18:55] And it was starting to make the mark when people were wanting to enlist and join this gospel cause, to join this gospel preaching outfit as it was back then.

[19:08] And men and women from all over the world came to enlist. And one man who had dreamt of becoming a bishop one day, he dreamt that he would be in some great church role.

[19:20] He crossed the Atlantic from America to England to enlist. Samuel Brangle was his name. He left to find pastorate to join Booth's Army. So he had some kind of pastoral role.

[19:32] But he wanted to join the Salvation Army. And he wanted to be one of the leading people in that new gospel enterprise. But at first General Booth accepted his services reluctantly and grudgingly.

[19:47] Booth said to Brangle, You've been your own boss too long. And in order to instill humility in Brangle, he sent him to work cleaning the boots of the other trainees.

[19:58] That was his job. So here he was, wanting to be one of the people in charge running the show. William Booth gave him the job of cleaning everybody's shoes.

[20:12] And Brangle was discouraged by this. He thought to himself, Have I followed my own fancy across the Atlantic in order to black boots? And then, as in a vision, he saw Jesus bending over the feet of rough, unleaded fishermen.

[20:28] Lord, he whispered, You wash their feet. I will black their shoes. So he put the shoe polish on their boots. And he was learning humility.

[20:41] He saw in his mind the Lord Jesus kneeling and washing the disciples' feet. And his own Lord performing this unimportant task. Really, there's nothing that's unimportant to serve God.

[20:54] Everything is important if it is done unto him. And years later, Brangle wrote about this time of shining these boots. And he said, It was the best training I could have had.

[21:05] The best training I could have had. I was practicing humility. That experience put a key in my hand to unlock the hearts of lowly people all around the world for the next 40 years.

[21:20] And the Lord mightily used this man as he had learned that first lesson of humility. And how can we, too, learn such a valuable lesson, such a vital lesson, to empty ourselves as Christ did, to humble ourselves and serve.

[21:38] So we see we're called to humility, to humble ourselves and pray. Fully rely on God. Humble yourselves and serve unto the Lord, whatever it be.

[21:51] In the least, whatever it be. Do your duty to the Master. And thirdly, humble yourself and witness. Let this mind be in you.

[22:04] It says, of having the mind of Christ. To have this attitude in us. The mind of Christ. God commands humble hearts and minds.

[22:17] What did our Lord do? He humbled himself and became a servant. He became human flesh. He wrapped himself in a human skin to be amongst us.

[22:36] What a vital, fundamental step of humility that was. It's mind-blowing, isn't it? It's as if we were to visit Earth as an ant or something, to learn about ant culture and to save the ants, as it were.

[22:56] It's just mind-boggling, isn't it? But more so, the very creator of humanity became manifest in the flesh. And how, too, we can put aside pride to learn total dependence on our Lord as our source of strength.

[23:14] About the Lord Jesus who came down from heaven for us. He says, to have his mind in us. To keep humble. Now in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26-28, we see that we're called.

[23:32] And God's chosen from amongst humanity those that others might discount. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26.

[23:43] And when we're feeling lacking or the least, when we're feeling limited, know that God has chosen you.

[23:58] He has chosen you. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.

[24:16] But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and basis the things of the world.

[24:32] And the things which are despised, God has chosen. Yea, and things which are not to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.

[24:46] Chosen of God. The foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, that no flesh should glory in his presence.

[24:58] To think that God would bless us with that salvation gift, that he would draw us out of humanity unto himself.

[25:12] What a blessing that is. The Lord compared salvation to like being an invitation to a party where we see the great gospel feast. We see the great invitation that he extended.

[25:26] God's message of salvation is pictured as, as it were, an invitation that's extended right across the globe. And we see God's message as good news for all, for the poor, for the oppressed, for all who will heed it, all who will receive it.

[25:45] And Paul tells us that, in effect, the big shots don't show up for God's party. It's not like they're excluded, but they're just, I'm too busy, I'm too preoccupied, I'm too this or that, I'm too proud to humble myself and to admit I'm a sinner and I need the Saviour.

[26:11] It's not like they're shut out, but they select themselves out, really, don't they? Yes. When we see, I know, for example, there's folk that I know that have tried to plant a church in a kind of high-income area and they've struggled there because people are too preoccupied, they've got other loves or other gods, in effect.

[26:43] And yet, our Lord reaches humanity-wide and the rejects come. The rejects come, in effect, don't they?

[26:54] Thank God, I'm a reject too. God faced the same prospect when he described his kingdom. We see that, the Lord Jesus says he described his kingdom. In Luke 14, for example, we see the invitation extended.

[27:08] In Luke 14, from verse 16, it tells how a certain man made a great supper and bade many. He had this great supper all laid out, everything laid on.

[27:19] In Luke 14, no expenses spared, this certain man a great supper. You know, the tables were laden and overflowing with all the, all that you could imagine.

[27:36] And verse 16, a certain man made a great supper. Many were invited. But there's various excuses we see as the narrative goes, people made various excuses, reasons why they couldn't come.

[28:01] Busy with business, with relationships, with other things that took his place, that took priority for them. And a certain man, we see the master, verse 21, that it says he was angry at the rejection.

[28:28] and he said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the holt and the blind.

[28:40] That's verse 21 of Luke 14. And verse 22, it says, the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded and yet there is room. Verse 23, and the Lord said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.

[29:02] What a picture that is of the gospel feast and of the invitation refused by and large and of the extension of that invitation and of the plea to the servants of the master.

[29:19] Go out into the highways and hedges. Bring in here the poor, the maimed, the holt, the blind. Compel them to come in that my house may be filled.

[29:34] What a picture this is for us of the Lord Jesus extending that invitation and yet the rich, the powerful, the distracted, for whatever reason, too busy to come.

[29:53] Something else has got a higher priority as it were. But blessed are the poor. They're not too busy to turn up and what does that mean?

[30:06] What does that speak of? I suppose in a way it's really the poor in spirit, isn't it? It's when we realise that we need we need his sustenance.

[30:20] We need we need to come to the table as it were. We need to come and receive from him and it shows us how God cares for those the often neglected ones, the uncared for ones.

[30:35] We see the love of God here. demonstrated while we were yet sinners. You know, of our own merit we wouldn't have a place at his table.

[30:48] We would not have an invitation yet. He extends that invitation to those that are lost and notice who it is that he called and thank God he doesn't downgrade people or disqualify people because of their standing because we're all level at the foot of the cross isn't it?

[31:14] The foot of the cross is all level. There's no one higher than another. We're all equally needing his grace. We're all equally needing his saving love. We're all equally undeserving of God's great grace.

[31:29] So we see these three types of people here. We see the poor, the maim and the holt. Look at the poor, the maim and the holt.

[31:40] Firstly, the poor. They couldn't afford it. Why would you invite someone to a feast if you're not going to get anything out of it?

[31:51] What's in it for me? But God doesn't think like that, does he? We don't have anything to offer him. We don't have anything we can't pay him for it. We can never pay God back for anything, could we?

[32:04] It's just like God reaching down in his grace, reaching out to men who will never be able to repay him for his salvation. We have a debt that we can't pay.

[32:19] God gives to those who realise their lack and need and we cannot repay or earn this gift of salvation. He just asked men to come, simply come, as poor, nothing in our pockets, nothing in my hands I bring, we can bring nothing.

[32:39] He just asked men and women to come to him and receive his salvation without money and without price to us. Yet, what a price, what a price, the priceless, precious blood of Christ.

[32:55] It was a great cost to him that we, the poor, can come. Secondly, the maim, the maim, in other words, the deformed, the injured, the twisted.

[33:07] Now, we can think of people that are physically so limping, injured, bruised, those that society feels uncomfortable with.

[33:29] It can be uncomfortable when such a person comes along and society can reject them, but God receives.

[33:48] God receives. God reaches out to them like this gracious man at a certain supper. And what does it say to us?

[33:59] No sin is so vile that God will turn away the repentant ones. We might be so deformed and twisted by sin such that decent, upstanding Christians will think they might think ill of them too.

[34:22] You know, certain sins that are topical at the moment, they're evil, but we're all equally evil and sinful and undeserving.

[34:39] And Jesus says, whosoever will, they come. He still says that. So even someone who's deformed by sin, so twisted and sickly and vile as the world would look at people physically so afflicted that God still invites such to his table.

[35:04] And the halt, and the third one's here, they've got the poor, the main, the halt. The halt, it speaks of the crippled ones. They aren't able to get around on their own.

[35:15] some people are so crippled, as we know in society, that people have got to wheel them around in wheelchairs. Some people are so crippled, they can do absolutely nothing for themselves.

[35:32] know, I know in the workplace where I work, there's some people that all they can communicate is a flicker of the eyelash to tell people what they want.

[35:46] They can still think, they can still communicate in very minuscule ways, but they've still got a functioning brain, they can still communicate.

[35:58] their body is locked. And the crippled ones, they can't even get there. They couldn't even get there themselves.

[36:09] They would need help to get to the supper. And likewise, those outside of Jesus are crippled by sin. They're unable to get to God. God has a place for the wounded and the hurting, the stumbling and sinful sinners can still come to Jesus.

[36:24] How did the crippled get there? the servants would have brought them. Then we see a fourth one is the blind, the people trapped in their own little world of darkness.

[36:38] They need someone to show them the light. And a certain man invited the blind. They would have needed someone to show them the way to get to the supper.

[36:51] They would have needed someone to hold them by the hand. And think of that in the spiritual context now. There are millions wandering around us in darkness, in blindness, spiritual blindness, and headed to hell.

[37:06] Like lemmings going over a cliff. People are blind. How we as witnesses need to be patient with people, don't we?

[37:17] Sometimes we can witness to someone and we think that we can explain something to them, but because they're blind, they need a lot of help, they need a lot of patience, they need a lot of grace from we that witness to them.

[37:32] We need to be patient with people and we need to pray for people. Amen. And these people, as pictured here, the blind, they need someone to show them the way.

[37:45] How can we spiritually find the way? We need God's spirit to light up the darkness. darkness. And he makes it possible for the blind sinner to see his need of Jesus.

[37:57] Once I was blind, now I can see. Our eyes can get open. The Bible talks about people whose minds are blinded in unbelief. It's like there's these shackles, these blinkers over their minds that they can't receive it.

[38:12] They're like this when you try to witness to them. Aren't they, some people? Yet God can open their deaf ears. We can believe God for them.

[38:22] There's people I'm praying for that their ears will be opened, their eyes will be opened. And then he says go into the highways and the hedges. Now what does this speak of?

[38:33] The highways and hedges. The highway and hedge dwellers are the ones no one else wants to do anything with. You know there's a little bush over here near this building and there's a man who came to my acquaintance and I believe he was actually sleeping under that bush.

[38:55] That was his home. Just that little bush over just a stone throw from here. There's people living in the highways and hedges. Living in hedges.

[39:07] The people that are unwanted, straying, homeless, wanderers. No one else wants anything to do with that. We thank God for people that are practically reaching out in our own community.

[39:21] So they're homeless. And what does this mean spiritually then? As we are witnesses to these, it means anyone, anywhere, can come to Jesus for salvation.

[39:33] Even those in the highways and hedges. Even those that are wandering, straying, homeless. God will turn nobody away. Even the tramps, as it were.

[39:44] what does it tell us here? It's telling us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

[39:54] That as we recognise once I was poor, maimed, holed, blind, a highway and heads dwelled, and yet a certain man invited me.

[40:08] And people went out and compelled me to come in. They went and extended the invitation. And God is not a respecter of persons.

[40:19] He doesn't rate people. Isn't that, that's a good thing, isn't it? That God doesn't rate people. He doesn't say, you're a ten, you're a six, you're a two.

[40:32] We're all equally needing his grace. And we're all equally needing his grace, we all equally have great need of him. And it's acknowledging that, it's humbling ourselves, humbling ourselves and trust him.

[40:46] And recognise that I, middle letter of sin, I, middle letter of pride, to be humble enough to come, to come to the cross, to come though poor and needy, though maimed and crippled and blind, deformed, made gross and twisted and wicked in our sin and equally come, humbly come to acknowledge our need of him, our absolute need of the saviour.

[41:21] And likewise to our commission to take the message to the people that are still lost, that we need to humble ourselves and witness.

[41:36] We have a crying need all around us, people lost. And our commission is to take that message to them. So, I put to you, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

[41:51] Humble yourself and pray. Take time to pray. Realise that every day, every moment, we must depend upon God. Fully rely on God. Humble yourself and pray.

[42:02] Humble yourself and serve. Don't think anything is beneath you. Humble yourself and serve. And humble yourself and witness as the gospel invitation is extended and our Lord says, go out into the highways and henges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.

[42:34] It's the same call today from the master to humble ourselves and witness. We might think, I'm not very comfortable going witnessing to the poor or the main, the deformed, the injured, the blind, crippled, the highway and hedge dwellers, yet God calls us to be messengers and that invite goes humanity wide and we are to carry it humanity wide.

[43:14] Amen? So let's not think of ourselves above witnessing. There's no one that we should not witness to. Really, I need to witness more.

[43:25] I need to, it takes a bit of humbling ourselves, doesn't it? Because sometimes it's hard to witness. I think it's hard to witness at times.

[43:38] Sometimes we constrain certain settings, certain places. It's not always easy to witness. But ask the Lord to give you open doors.

[43:51] Ask the Lord to give you opportunities and take those opportunities. I know someone in our gathering here tonight is someone so every person they meet and tell them about the Lord.

[44:02] Think of my mum and dad. It's like if someone goes to their garage sale, it's not really a garage sale.

[44:13] It's actually just a little honeypot to draw people in so they can share the gospel message. They're not really there to sell the rubbish that's in their shed.

[44:26] They're there to witness. That should be our objective, shouldn't it? Let's make it a priority. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that we can humble ourselves and pray.

[44:36] Lord, help us to do that more so. Humble ourselves and serve fine opportunities, Lord, that we'll just do what it's our duty to do.

[44:48] There's no claudits from people that we're looking for. We just want to serve. Lord, help us to be humble enough to witness, to lay aside pride, to take what can be an uncomfortable and not a natural thing to do.

[45:09] Yet, Lord, it's a supernatural call. It's a supernatural commission that we're all called to, a supernatural message that you've called us to impart. May we humble ourselves, lay aside pride and our own selfish ways and use our lips, Lord, to tell others while we can.

[45:30] In Jesus' name. Amen.