Embracing Humility: The Upside-Down Kingdom of God

Devotional

Day 1: Humility as the Path to Exaltation

In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus illustrates the counterintuitive values of God's kingdom. The Pharisee, confident in his own righteousness, prays with a sense of superiority, while the tax collector humbly acknowledges his sinfulness and pleads for God's mercy. This story teaches that in God's kingdom, humility is exalted, and self-righteousness is a barrier to true communion with God. The tax collector's humble plea for mercy exemplifies the attitude we should have before God, recognizing our need for His grace. [41:47]

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a recent situation where you felt superior to someone else. How can you approach that person or situation with humility and seek God's grace in your interactions?

Day 2: Embracing Grace Over Transactions

Our relationship with God is not based on transactions or earning His favor through deeds. Instead, it is grounded in grace, where everything we receive is a gift. This understanding should lead us to live with gratitude and humility, acknowledging that God owes us nothing. The Pharisee's self-righteousness serves as a cautionary tale against trusting in our own deeds, while the tax collector's humble acknowledgment of his need for God's grace is a model for us. [55:56]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you are trying to earn God's favor. How can you shift your mindset to one of gratitude for His grace instead?

Day 3: Prioritizing Self-Examination Over Judging Others

Jesus instructs us to focus on our own spiritual growth rather than judging others. By removing the logs from our own eyes, we can better help others with their struggles, fostering a community of grace and support. This principle encourages us to be more concerned with our own spiritual integrity than with criticizing others. In the church, we are called to lovingly help one another grow, recognizing that we all struggle and need grace. [01:01:09]

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3, ESV)

Reflection: Consider a time when you judged someone harshly. What steps can you take to focus on your own spiritual growth and offer support instead of criticism?

Day 4: Loving Accountability Within the Church

Within the church, we are called to lovingly hold each other accountable, helping one another grow in Christ. This involves speaking truth in love and offering support, recognizing that we all need grace and guidance. The church should be a place where we can lovingly help each other grow, acknowledging our shared struggles and need for God's grace. [01:12:50]

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." (Galatians 6:1, ESV)

Reflection: Think of a fellow believer who may need encouragement or accountability. How can you approach them with love and support this week?

Day 5: Sharing the Gospel Message with Love

Our primary message to the world should be the gospel of Jesus Christ. We invite others to experience God's love and grace, trusting Him to transform their lives. Our role is to share the good news, not to judge or condemn. This approach differentiates our message to the world from our accountability within the church, emphasizing love and the transformative power of the gospel. [01:10:35]

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

Reflection: Identify someone in your life who does not know Christ. How can you share the love and message of the gospel with them in a way that is genuine and compassionate?

Sermon Summary

In today's message, we explored the profound teachings of Jesus about humility and the nature of God's kingdom, which operates on principles that are often counterintuitive to worldly values. We delved into the parable from Luke 18, where Jesus contrasts the attitudes of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee, confident in his own righteousness, prays with a sense of superiority, while the tax collector, aware of his shortcomings, humbly asks for God's mercy. This parable illustrates the upside-down nature of God's kingdom, where the way up is down, and humility is exalted.

The Pharisee's self-righteousness and judgmental spirit serve as a cautionary tale against trusting in our own deeds and looking down on others. In contrast, the tax collector's humble acknowledgment of his sinfulness and need for God's grace is a model for us. We are reminded that our relationship with God is not transactional; He owes us nothing, and everything we receive is a gift of grace. This understanding should lead us to live lives marked by gratitude and humility.

Furthermore, we discussed the importance of self-examination and the dangers of judging others. Jesus teaches us to focus on removing the logs from our own eyes before addressing the specks in others'. This principle encourages us to be more concerned with our own spiritual growth and integrity than with criticizing others. In the church, we are called to lovingly help one another grow, recognizing that we all struggle and need grace.

Finally, we emphasized the need to differentiate our approach to the world and the church. While we are called to uphold truth within the church, our message to the world should be one of love and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We invite others into the boat of salvation, trusting God to work in their lives as He does in ours.

Key Takeaways

1. righteousness. The tax collector's humble plea for mercy exemplifies the attitude we should have before God, recognizing our need for His grace. [41:47]
2. Grace, Not Transactions: Our relationship with God is based on grace, not transactions. We cannot earn God's favor through our deeds; everything we receive is a gift. This understanding should lead us to live with gratitude and humility, acknowledging that God owes us nothing.

3. Self-Examination Over Judgment: Jesus instructs us to focus on our own spiritual growth rather than judging others. By removing the logs from our own eyes, we can better help others with their struggles, fostering a community of grace and support.

4. Loving Accountability in the Church: Within the church, we are called to lovingly hold each other accountable, helping one another grow in Christ. This involves speaking truth in love and offering support, recognizing that we all need grace and guidance.

5. The Gospel Message to the World: Our primary message to the world should be the gospel of Jesus Christ. We invite others to experience God's love and grace, trusting Him to transform their lives. Our role is to share the good news, not to judge or condemn.

** [41:47]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:49] - Introduction and Humor
[40:42] - The Upside-Down Kingdom
[41:47] - The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
[42:19] - The Role of Tax Collectors
[43:53] - Pharisees and Self-Righteousness
[45:38] - The Danger of Self-Righteousness
[46:51] - Fasting and True Intentions
[48:53] - Fasting as Tuning to God's Frequency
[50:04] - Practicing Righteousness in Secret
[51:33] - Giving and Honesty
[54:20] - Ananias and Sapphira's Deception
[55:56] - Grace, Not Transactions
[59:17] - The Tax Collector's Humility
[61:09] - Self-Examination and Judgment
[70:35] - The Gospel Message to the World
[74:08] - Loving Accountability in the Church
[75:28] - Conclusion and Prayer

Sermon Clips

1) "We don't want to be judgmental. We don't want to be critical. We don't want to be easily offended. We don't want to be easily hurt. We don't want to say hurtful things or say things out of love. We don't want to be impatient. We don't want to be unkind. We don't want to be angry. We don't want to be bitter. We don't want to be discontent. We don't want to be unthankful. Want to. We want to live an exemplary life for the Lord. And we don't want to judge other people inappropriately. We do want to love people. So love is going to interact with people. So how. How we interact with people. So we're going to. We want to deal with our stuff. We want to be open and honest that we do have stuff." [01:04:23] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2) "We can't ever do anything. This is the principle about this that creates a debtor relationship with God. He doesn't owe us anything. Everything we get is a gift of grace. It's not transactional. Romans 1135 or. Who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him again? What have you given to God that now he owes you something for? From him and through him and to him are all things. It all came from him. It all is going to him. To him be the glory forever and ever. He doesn't owe us anything." [55:13] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3) "Fasting is not twisting God's arm to give you what you want, but fasting is not for God. It's for us. Fasting is like tuning your radio to God's frequency. So you take the time. You're not eating, so you take that time, and you spend that time in prayer. And maybe the hunger and the lack of food will help you focus and concentrate on, and it will help. Fasting is about understanding what God is saying to you so you can have clarity from his word. So he fasted instead, not to get clarity from God. He was fasting to impress people with how religious he is." [50:04] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4) "We need to be more concerned about ourselves than we are about others. Matthew seven one, don't do judge lest you be judged. For the way you judge, you will be judged. And by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that's in your brother's eye, but don't notice the log that's in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye? And behold, the log is in your own eye, you hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." [01:01:09] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5) "The kingdom of God works when we humble ourselves before God and ask him. So here's two principles I want to talk about in the six minutes I have left. Number one, we need to be more concerned about ourselves than we are about others. Matthew seven one, don't do judge lest you be judged. For the way you judge, you will be judged. And by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that's in your brother's eye, but don't notice the log that's in your own eye?" [01:01:09] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6) "We want to be walking in accordance to who we are. We recognize who we are because of the gospel. So Galatians six one says this. If anyone's caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself so that you too may not be tempted. So in the kingdom, we want to help each other. And it's loving. It doesn't seem loving, but it's loving. If you were to say to someone, hey, my brother in Christ, my sister in Christ, I find out you're been cheating on your wife, man, you need to stop that. That's so, it's so destructive. You're causing so much damage." [01:12:50] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7) "We get wonderful gifts. Anybody here know Jesus? That's the greatest gift you can get. And you get it by grace. By grace. You've been saved through faith that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. Everything we get from God, we get by grace. It's not because he owes us. It's not because, well, I've been going to church for 40 years or 50 years, or I've been serving the Lord for 80 years. It's none of those things. We own. Everything we get, we get as a gift of grace by God. He never owes us anything." [55:56] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8) "The kingdom of God. Is this the way up is down? God's kingdom works through humility, not pride. We mess up when we present to the world a prideful attitude. We got this handled and not a grace filled attitude. And we don't help each other when we're prideful and not grace filled, because we can help each other get the logs and the specs out of our eyes. That's one of the reasons why God calls us into community, because when we get in community, when people start bumping into each other, stuff comes to the surface. You start getting close enough in life that you know what's going on, and you can say, hey, man, I love you. Is there any way I can help you with this? That's what we're called to be." [01:14:08] (64 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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