TOPIC: HUMILITY IS THE STRONGEST KEY TO THE HEART OF OUR DADDY IN HEAVEN. -WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THIS MATTER- But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all the things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out because the children of the Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his clothes, and put sack cloth upon his flesh, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before Me? Because he humbleth himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house….1ST KINGS 21:25-29 -WHAT GOD IS SAYING ABOUT THIS MATTER TODAY- Men and brethren, one of the greatest destroyers of folks, even in the Church of Jesus Christ, is pride. The Lord will forever resist the proud, and will continue to give grace to every humble heart. Pride has led many to untimely death and eternal damnation. Even amongst the seemingly righteous, pride does rare its head now and then, and in different forms. Sometimes it manifests too subtly even for the person walking therein to notice. For unless we constantly walk in the spirit we are bound to slip into pride now and then. But there is a way out. In today’s scriptures, the word of the Lord came to King Ahab and his household. (Please read the entire chapter in order to fully appreciate this matter). Ahab the King of Israel and his evil wife Jezebel had sold themselves to evil - plundering and destroying the works of God in Israel. They were simply into impunity, even as some of the world’s leaders of today. Indeed the sins of Ahab and his household surpassed the sins of King Jeroboam who was very infamous as the king that made Israel to sin against God. In terms of unrighteousness, King Ahab and his household were something else – there is just no suitable word in the dictionary of men to describe their abominable ways. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the prophet concerning Ahab. The summary of what the Lord decreed on Ahab and his house hold is found in verses 23 and 24 of today’s scriptures: “And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat: and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat”. The decree of the Lord was as harsh as that – and it clearly marched the evil deeds of Ahab and his household. But the significant thing here is this: that when Ahab was confronted with his numerous crimes and the punishment that awaited him, he quickly humbled himself, as described in today’s scriptures. And in response to Ahab’s humble response to the word of the Lord, the Lord turned around and showed mercy on Ahab. In spite of all the abominable and seemingly unforgivable sins of Ahab, yet when he humbled himself before the Lord, the Lord showed him mercy. The sentence on Ahab as a person was reversed. Though Ahab later died in battle, but it was purely as a result of his disobedience to the words of Micah the prophet against going to that war. You may search the scriptures for verification of these facts. Men and brethren, it was with the same humility that Christ purchased salvation for mankind. When Jesus announced in Matthew 28:18 that “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth”, He was not boasting. Yes, all power in heaven and in earth is now with Jesus Christ. He is only subject to our God in all things whatsoever. And He purchased this overriding authority with humility. And He did it in a style. In the book of Philippians, Chapter Two, from verse 6 to 11, it is written of Jesus; even in the days of His flesh, that He…”being in the form of God, thought it robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.” Men and brethren, the above Philippians, also demands that we that are saved should walk in the same humility even as Christ did. There are no exceptions to this matter – it is to everybody – both the priest and congregation, both the teacher and the taught. And good enough the Holy Ghost does equip every believer with the fruit of humility. All we need is to activate what is already in us. Yet many are finding it very difficult to do this. Have you seen a man or woman whom God would protect and preserve by all means possible? That is a humble man, and that is a humble woman. And that also was King David. And that is why our Lord described him as a man after His heart. And indeed he was. For David was a man who was ready to make amends whenever occasion demands. He was not arguing anything, he was not rationalizing anything. Whenever he was in error he went to the Lord in dust and ashes. And that was the main difference between him and King Saul. Yes, David committed murder in order to covet another man’s wife. Yes he did. But when he was confronted by God he humbled himself and cried out for mercy. In the case of King Saul, he always had one reason or the other to give for his errors. He lacked simple humility, and he was eventually destroyed. Are you like King Saul? Are you always trying to justify yourself even in the midst of errors in your life. Are you the type of believer that claims the righteousness of Christ while yet wallowing in sin and compromise? Are you that believer who stretches the divine principle of justification in order to justify your sinful ways. Are you that type of believer who follows preachers that tell their hearers that once one is saved he or she is saved forever - irrespective of how that person lives thereafter? Are you that type of believer who sees other believers who walk in daily righteousness and being religious? Are you that type of believer who calls sin law, and claim that since Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law, we are free to live as we choose and still make heaven at last? Are you that type of believer who believes that he or she does not commit, and cannot commit sin on the basis that he or she is a spirit and that a spirit cannot commit sin? If you find yourself in any of these pictures, know it this very day that you are a proud person before the Lord. And the earlier you humble yourself and accept your limitations and errors the better for you. The earlier you go down on your knees and cry out to God for mercy the better. Brethren, many of us have become too familiar with God, that when His word comes we just shrug our shoulders and keep moving. Many of us have taken very strong, but perverse positions in the gospel - that everything that runs contrary to their stance is unacceptable. Many of us are not even ready to listen to any preacher whose skin color or tribal marks, or even language is not acceptable to us. The situation is as bad as that. Are you a Doctor of theology and you feel that by reason of that you are now above correction by those you consider inferior in knowledge? It is time to forsake pride and accept our utter helplessness without the Lord. Brethren, as far as the true gospel of Christ is concerned, the truth is not a subjective matter. The truth of the gospel is not relative to our circumstances or culture. As far as the Bible is concerned, truth is truth irrespective of whom we are and where we come from. The truth remains the truth irrespective of our deep or shallow knowledge of the things of God. And there is true liberty in Christ only when the truth is received and practiced. Nonetheless, it is of the Lord that I remind all of us, that there are no limits to the mercies of our God. No matter how far one has gone down into the pit of sin, the Lord’s arms are ever open to receive that person back into Himself. But we must go to Him in total humility. No matter what we have done against the Lord, if we can approach Him today in perfect humility, He will yet redeem us. But first and foremost, we must accept that we are wrong, we must be ready to atone for our sins, and we must be willing to go and sin no more. And the assurance from heaven this very day is this: that our loving Daddy in heaven is ever ready to hear us, He Is ever ready to forgive, He is ever ready to repair, He is ever ready to restore. But are you ready to humble yourself before Him? Always bear this in mind – that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back sooner than we all expect can ever expect.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 09:52:26 +0000
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