The Walk of Humility

The Walk of Humility

Words of Faith 2-24-2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2021

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Ephesians 4

     [1] As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.   [2] Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  

      What does this worthy walk look like, the axios walk, the walk that is worthy of the calling of Christ?  The Holy Spirit teaches us that a walk worthy of the call should reflect three attitudes and one action.  We are to be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

      We could just rush past that, but we won’t.  Today, let’s talk about humility.

      Walking in humility most simply means to occupy life in a manner that is not prideful.  To conduct ourselves with humility might be understood as "lowliness," but some care must be given not to fall into the trap of false humility.  The Spirit is not teaching us to draw attention to ourselves through self-deprecation.

      Humility certainly means a manner of modesty.  We are not to be engaged in self-promotion or self-aggrandizement.  We are to follow the example of Christ taking care not to engage in false humility.  By its nature, humility is more a matter of walk than talk.  If you must tell someone how humble you are, the point is somehow missed.

      As believers, we are called to seek and recognize where we fit into God’s plan.  The truth is we don’t get to decide what gift we will manifest; that is the choosing of the Spirit. We don’t aspire to a place of leadership because we admire it.  This is something recognized and confirmed by others. 

      Paul wrote to the believers in Rome: For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:3).  Any calling, whether to preach, teach, serve or administrate, must be born out and confirmed with sober judgment by others.  Sober judgment would mean an accurate assessment of one’s gifts and the grace of God at work in them, not too high and certainly not too low. 

       Paul wrote the Philippians a similar message-- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves (2:3-4).  Our attitude is to be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, though He was equal to God, did not cling to that high place but instead emptied Himself to take the form of a servant, and walk in obedience to the cross (2:5-8). 

      Jesus said that if you want to be great in the Kingdom of God, you must learn to be the servant of all.  He demonstrated that humility by his example, washing the feet of the disciples.  That was not some photo-op.  He washed real feet with real dirt that really smelled. 

     The walk of humility is one of complete dependence upon God and complete obedience to His will and way.  It is the walk that realizes that when we lose our life in Him, we find Life, and if we cling to ourselves, we lose life.

      All this is so critical because pride is the original sin.  Pride shatters our relationship with God.  Pride fragments our relationships with others. Pride promotes disunity in the family and church.

      Father God, help me to walk in a manner that is worthy of Your calling in my life.  Help me to walk in humility.  Give me a sober judgment of my self and my place in Your plan.  Help me to consider others ahead of myself.  Help me to follow after Jesus and His example.  In Jesus’ Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2010, 2021

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.