Are You Really Humble?

Philippians 2:8-11 (NLT)

8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus humbled Himself. How did He humble Himself? By being obedient to God and dying on a cross. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42). He didn't want to go through it. But true humility is doing what God asks of you.

God does not demand anything from us. We have freedom of choice, which is why people are sick. The Word says, "Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 11:29-30)

You see here that people are weak, sick, and dead because they did not recognize the body of the Lord. What exactly does that mean? It means that if you know the definition of His body broken for you, you understand that "by His stripes we are healed." His body was broken for us, and by His stripes we are healed. He paid for our healing at the atonement.  If you simply take communion and never grasp the reality and truth of His body being beaten and broken for your healing, then you will never reap the benefits from it.

If it were not for freedom of choice, we would simply be robots. God asks us to do certain things through the Bible. We don't have to do them. He does not force us to do what He asks. That is what the parable of the two sons is about. One said he would do what his father wanted him to do, but didn't. The other said no, he would not do what his father wanted, but turned around and did it. They both had a choice to make, whether to be obedient to what their father asked them to do, or not.

God does not take away our freedom of choice. But Jesus commanded His disciples to do things in His Name. Then He told them to teach others to do the same things He commanded them to do. So we are supposed to be doing the same things they did. In fact, Jesus said that we would do the same things as He, and even greater works because He went to the Father. Jesus also said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15) IF you love me. So anyone who says they love Jesus and doesn't do what He commanded does not really love Him.

He told His disciples, "If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." They were His friends, how could they possibly be glad that Jesus was going away? This is how: If their will aligned with God's will, they could be happy because God's will was being fulfilled. It makes men happy when Gods' will comes to pass. We have a role to play. We are ambassadors for Christ as though God is making His appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."(2 Corinthians 5:15) We are here to live for God. How do we live for God? By humbling ourselves. How do we humble ourselves? By being obedient to God. If we love Him, we should be glad to do His will. True humility is not saying condemning things about yourself like, "Oh, I'm a sinner," or "I'm nothing." That, in reality, is pride. How is it pride, you ask? By overriding what God has already said about you. God says that we are a holy nation, a royal priesthood, His beloved, His children, the righteousness of Christ, we are hidden in Christ, we are blameless. Shall I go on? If you think putting yourself down to lift Jesus up is right, you're wrong! God has lifted Jesus high above every name. Putting yourself down in front of God is sin, because you are telling God that He is a liar, or that you can somehow override what He says about you.

It doesn't get any clearer than this. God has said every good thing about you, and He never says anything bad about you. God never brings up your past; it is the devil who is the accuser. So stop listening to the devil and believe what God has already said about you.