November 20
Ezek 40:28-41:26 | PS 118:19-29 | Prov 28:3-5 | James 4:1-17
Jesus, along with the Father and the Spirit created everything in this world out of nothing in six days. Jesus, through His selfless act on the cross conquered sin and death once and for all. He is perfect, yet He humbled Himself, "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant" (Philippians 2:7). His love for us so great, that He was willing to leave heaven, and become a Man. With this realization, consider for a moment how we puff ourselves up, exalt those who achieve some level of expertise in an area, even raise up our children to levels they do not deserve. What a disservice. We think that we are elevating one's self-esteem, not realizing that in so doing, we are blinding them to the only One worthy to be esteemed. In comparison to Jesus, master builders are not masters at all, brilliant scientists are ignorant, etc. Though it may be a complete about face from what is pushed in society, we would do well to see ourselves in comparison to Jesus, and not some human imagination of so-called perfection. Then and only then is humility possible. Unless humbled, we simply cannot see Jesus.
We read in Matthew 5:3-4, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted." Realize poor in spirit, is to recognize our own inadequacy in light of who the Lord is. With this understanding, what we are mourning over is our own sinful ways, finally seeing ourselves clearly in the light. James writes in similar fashion in James 4:7-10, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." If this is not clear enough, we read specifically in 4:6, "God resists the proud, But God gives grace to the humble."
We seek to make a name for ourselves, a name for our children, etc., yet we read soberly in James 4:13-14, "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." It is time to stop with the participation trophies, medal showcases, and bumper stickers, exalting everything which is not worthy to be exalted. We are not powerful, but if in Christ, we possess immense power in the person of the Holy Spirit, as stated in 1 John 4:4, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." Hopefully, you are following the reading schedule. If so, we just spent two days reading Psalm 118. We can only exalt like that, the King of Kings, who alone is deserving, if we get our eyes off of ourselves and everything that is not Him.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: