HUMILITY, THE WAY TO GREATNESS

HUMILITY, THE WAY TO GREATNESS

Philippians 2:5-11; James 4:10; Matthew 18:4
How many of you want to become great in life? But do you know that the way up is
down? The Bible says “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift
you up” (James 4:10). The way to greatness is by being humble. This seminar is to
prepare you for greatness by teaching you what it means to be humble, how to be
humble, examples of humble people in the Bible and how promotion comes through
humility. You are born to be great and you will be great in Jesus‟ Name.

1. THE MEANING OF HUMILITY:

Humility is from the word humble. To be humble is to be lowly in heart. It means to see
and think of yourself as a nobody without the help of God. Whatever ability, talent,
position, intelligence, skill or property that you have, you know that all comes from God
and without God you can do nothing. To be humble is to recognize that everything
comes from God and they are given to you to serve others.
Humility is the opposite of pride. God hates pride and resists the proud. Wherefore He
saith, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). To
be humble is not to think or act as if you are better than others. Never look down on
others. Don‟t try to prove yourself as the only one who knows or can do it better. You
must humble yourself. Don‟t pray that God should humble you. The Bible says
“Humble yourself…and He (God) shall lift you up.”

2. EXAMPLES OF HUMBLE PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE:

There are many examples of people in the Bible who were humble. But we also have
examples of people who were proud and how God punished them. Some of such proud
people were: (i)Herod (Acts 12:21-24) (ii) Pharaoh and (Exodus 5:2, 14:28)
(iii)Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28-33).
However, there are many examples of humble people in the Bible. God blessed them
and promoted them to become great people. They are:
(i) Jesus Christ – (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus Christ is God, yet He did not make Himself
equal with God. He humbled himself and suffered like ordinary human being. He is our
perfect example. He did not seek honour or glory for Himself. He was obedient unto
death. What a humble life!
(ii) Moses - Hebrews 11:23-27; Numbers 12:3.
Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh„s daughter thereby rejecting the honour
and glory that such a position would give. He did not seek worldly honour or glory for
himself. He humbled himself by identifying with God‟s people who were suffering and
he refused to enjoy the pleasure of sin. Are you like Moses?
(iii) John the Baptist. Matthew 3:11:
John the Baptist showed respect and humility whenever he talked about Jesus. He
agreed that Jesus was mightier than him. That is humility. He counted himself
unworthy to bear the shoes of Jesus.
(iv) Paul, the Apostle- Acts 20:18-21
God gave Paul great power to do miracles and heal the sick in the Name of Jesus and to
preach the gospel. Paul was never proud. He knew that all he had was from God. He
served God with humility and showed respect to other Christians who worked with him
– (Romans 16:21).
(v) Cornelius - Acts 10:25, 30-33.
Cornelius was a senior officer in the army – a centurion. He had many servants and
soldiers under him.
He was a great man. But he humbled himself by receiving Peter into his house. He
humbly listened to what Peter had to say. He made his family to listen to the gospel. He
did not think too highly of his position and money. He was therefore saved and the
whole of his family.
(vi) Elisha -1 Kings 19:19-21;
Elisha was a rich man. He had so many oxen and farm land. He humbled himself by
leaving all these things to become a servant to Elijah the man of God. He was willing to
work for God. He was pouring water on the hand of Elijah. If you want God to use you
like Elisha, you must humble yourself.
(vii) Daniel – Daniel 2:19-23, 30; Daniel 5:13-17.
Daniel was an Israelite living in the land of Babylon. God gave Daniel special wisdom,
understanding, gift of revelation and ability to interpret visions and dreams. Yet Daniel
was very humble. He was never proud or boastful. He always confessed that wisdom
and revelation belongs to God. He did not see himself to be more important than all the
other children of Israel. He also respected the kings though he was wiser than them.

3. PROMOTION TO GREATNESS THROUGH HUMILITY: Philippians 2:9-11; Daniel
2:48; Matthew 18:4.

God has promised to promote the child who is humble and make him great. All the
people that humbled themselves before God were promoted to great positions:
i) Our Lord Jesus Christ was promoted to become Master and king over men, demons,
Satan, sickness and over all things.
(ii)John the Baptist, became great in the kingdom of God.
iii) Moses became one of the greatest prophets that ever lived on earth because of his
humility.
iv) Everybody talks of Paul today because he served God with all humility and God
promoted him.
You need to make up your mind not to be proud. Humble yourself before God and other
people. Be clothed with humility. But note that all these can only be possible through
repentance and faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Give your heart to Jesus now and live a
life of humility.