Humility — John Musser

Humility as the Beginning of Revival

Now this morning I want to get into something that is one of the most profound truths in all of the Word of God. It's something that you cannot miss and I hope we're a pastor. Are you recording this back there?

This is very important. I hope other people will be able to hear this truth because it's the beginning of revival. God says if my people which are called by my name So humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.

Then when I hear from heaven forgive their sin and heal their land, but the first condition to revival is humility brokenness and There's a paradox in the Word of God. We see to live you must die if you're going to make it in the kingdom of God.

You must humble yourself. God says he that humbleth himself shall be exalted, but he that exalted himself shall be abased you see Wickedness and sin and all these other things and damnation and hell came to the world because of pride.

Lucifer the son of the morning he exalted himself and he said I will ascend above the stars of heaven I will be like the Most High God and we find the first sin in the universe was pride. It's man's natural Inclination to be prideful to be stubborn to resist the authority of God not to bend and to break under the Lord but we see that because Destruction and sin and all of these other things that we see today in America and in the world came because of man's pride.

The pride of life is one of the three basic sins that Satan tempts man with the lust of the eyes and the lust of The flesh are the other two. Now on the other side of the coin we see that Jesus clothed himself with humility that blessing and salvation Came to the world through the humiliation of Jesus Christ.

Christ's Humiliation and the Pattern of Humility

And that's why Paul says in Philippians chapter 2 by 3 He says let this mentality be in you let this frame of mind be in you let this way of thinking be in you. Which is also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant a willing bond slave and was made in the likeness of men and Being found in fashion as of a man.

He humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. So we see that here the great creator the great god of the universe the everlasting father the prince of peace the Counselor the mighty God he became a man and he took upon himself the form of a willing bond slave.

Jesus Christ Came down from the realms of glory into this world of woe. But he came through humility and you know That's one of the reasons why I believe that the religious leaders of his hour Rejected him as the true Messiah because he was clothed in humility was not born and the courts of the king.

He was not born among the Pharisees or the Sadducees he was not born at a lofty home, but he was born of a poor lowly maid of Nazareth and He worked for a living up until his full-time ministry and Sometimes I look back in my imagination and you could almost see Jesus with wood shavings in his hair because he was a carpenter and He labored with his hands.

He worked he was a strong man. But he was the God man and he was clothed in humility. And as I've mentioned this is one of the most profound truths in the Word of God because you'll find this truth brought out Again and again from Genesis to Revelation you'll find it in illustration.

You'll find it in Scripture after Scripture after Scripture. In fact when this theme Becomes a reality in your heart everywhere you go in the Bible You'll see that God is working humility within the hearts of the Saints.

God cannot use a vessel until that vessel is Broken and humbled before the Lord it took 20 years for God to really change Jacob in the changes name from Jacob to Israel and That night he became a prince with God because Jacob was broken.

We find that God takes his Saints through this classroom of brokenness through this process of working humiliation within their hearts this complete and total dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ and This is the starting point without it You cannot Begin or can you progress in the Christian life and every successful ministry and fruitful ministry is Started here and it's maintained in a spirit of brokenness.

Moses Learns Humility in the Desert

You remember Moses God wanted to work humiliation within his heart. Moses was a man that was as highly esteemed within the minds of the world. You've got to let your sanctified imagination run loose. Sometimes Moses was in the courts of Pharaoh.

Moses was raised by the son of Pharaoh's daughter and Moses was clothed in all the garments of the Egyptians he was schooled into the way of the Egyptians and Probably many people thought that he would be on the throne one day over all of Egypt this great world empire.

And so everywhere you went probably in the known world. You heard the name Moses in the house. It was a whole word and One day God began to put into his heart that he wanted to use this man. And I believe that Moses tried to do the work of God in the energy of the flesh when he killed that Egyptian but God had Some schooling from Moses.

God had to teach Moses humility. And so what did they do? Moses was led to the desert and Moses tended sheep for 40 years. Now can you imagine this it you see this man that's on a lofty pedestal and then he flees from Pharaoh and Now we seen in the next scene Tending sheep watching sheep for 40 years.

He's watching sheep and he's going to deal with the people that are just like those sheep just as stubborn just just ignorant. This is rebellious. But God wants to teach him some deep principles on humiliation and God is working the philosophies of humanism out of his heart when he's there in the desert and watching the sheep and you can almost see Moses strong and bright and full of words and you can just see him sitting on a stump somewhere and all of a sudden one of those little lions just run off and he leaves the 99 and He goes and captures that lamb and brings him back now for 40 years.

Some of you have worked for 10 15 20 years at a certain job, but can you imagine for 40 years? God is working in this man's life. And then one day when Moses was ready when he was a vessel that was fit for the master's use God drew him to the backside of the desert and there God appeared unto him in a burning bush and he commissioned him again.

And he endued him with power and God Enabled Moses to lead the children of Israel out of the house of bondage with a high and with a mighty hand. You know, this is a tremendous truth because we look into the New Testament we can see it in the life of Paul.

Paul's Thorn and Dependence on Grace

God Showed Paul such an abundance of revelations that we find that Paul Had a tendency to be prideful. Because God had to allow a messenger of Satan to buffet him. Do you know that God permitted a demon spirit to buffet Paul?

He says this in his personal biographies and his autobiographies and those little biographical sketches. We find in the New Testament of Paul. He says when I am weak the power of Jesus Christ will rest upon me.

He says there is given to me a messenger of Satan to buffet me. Lest I should be exalted above measure because of the abundance of revelations that I have received. You see God taught things to Paul that no man had ever heard.

He taught and revealed the secrets of Jesus Christ dwelling within us the hope of glory. He revealed mysteries about the church and we find and I believe that it happened at Lister when Paul was stoned.

That even this mortal man was lifted was whacked it up into the heavenlies and he walked the streets of gold. They saw God and all of his power and all of his glory and all of his majesty and he saw revelations abundance of revelations and Paul said that because of all of these things that I have seen being a mortal man.

There has been given to me a messenger of Satan to keep me humble to keep me dependent upon God to keep me broken to keep me seeking God. And I really believe that pride was a besetting sin in the life of Paul.

I believe that he got the victory over. Why would God allow a messenger of Satan to buffet him if God did not foresee real danger in the life of Paul? God would never allow tribulation in your life unless you really need it.

Unless it's going to be used of God to break you and to bend you and to make you thoroughly dependent upon the Lord. And I really truly believe that Paul had some real physical problems. Although he could lay hands on the sick and he saw miraculous healings yet It's very evident from the Word of God that he had physical problems and it could have been in his eyes.

God Uses the Weak and Humble

And but we don't know just the extent of this harassment. Deal moody was a evangelist that Just moved the world through his preaching. He was mightily used of God. He was tremendously anointed of the Spirit and deal moody brought America and Britain together.

By the means of the cross of Jesus Christ, the land was just set on fire with a holy flame great revivals broke out. But do you know that deal moody only had a sixth grade education? That he slaughtered the English language that all the Homiletical professors would come up and they would listen to them and they would almost have to shut their ears because he didn't preach homiletical sermons.

But he knew the power of God and deal moody was broken before the Lord and our a Tory was a successor to deal Moody one day had a memorial service and he preached a sermon on why God used deal moody and one of the Outstanding reasons was this because deal moody was a broken and he was a humble man.

He was always willing to put someone above him. He didn't really didn't think that he could really preach good and he was convinced of that that everyone else could preach Better than him and he always wanted people to take his place.

When he had these conventions and when he had these meetings where many of the great preachers around the world would gather together. And he always wanted them to preach first because he knew his limitations.

And that's why God says Paul says for you see your calling brother. How that not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called for God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty and God has Chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and base things and things which are nothing.

To confound the things that are why that no flesh may glory in his presence. That's the reason why. That's why God will use people like you and me. That's why God says to David you remember David would he exalted himself and God says don't you remember that?

I took you from the sheepfold and I've lifted you on high and he turned away from the Lord for a while and we need to sometimes Meditate and see what kind of a slime pit that all of us came from that we were Dead and trespasses and sins and all of us were rebels against God and we need to look back and we need to see sometimes that God took us from such a horrible pit and he looked us upon a rock and he established our goings-forth and When we get haughty when we think we're something and we think we're really doing something for God.

God will immediately extract his power and you will function in the energy of the flesh and you'll be discouraged and you'll be oppressed and This is where many of God's people fail. God will use them to lead some souls to Christ or maybe they can do good things in the area of music or maybe in speaking or whatever it may be a number of things.

Maybe you have a craft that you can perform above other people. Maybe you have many skills and God says that if we allow these things to get to our head. He says let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus.

He said let this mentality to linger within your mind. He says fix your mind on humility. That's why the Bible says that we're to be clothed with humility. When someone says how do you know that you've got humility because once you think you've got it you lose it.

If you find the answer to that, please tell me after the service because I haven't found it. All I know is this that God says humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. That's what the Word of God says constantly repeatedly again and again and again.

Grace Is Received Through Humility

We find in the Word of God that God teaches us this tremendous truth. Would you turn with me to James? James chapter 4. We're going to see something that is going to amaze you and if you have a pen and paper I want you to write this down because I'm Convinced that you can have no kind of Christian experience that you cannot know the power of God.

You cannot continue in the ways of God unless you learn this principle of humiliation. Until it comes a living reality within your lives and and in just a moment you're going to see why. First of all, we see in the Word of God as we read here that grace is received through humility.

Grace is received through humility. Now. We have different kinds of grace. You have sustaining grace. You have supplying grace. You have the grace of God that's able to make God's in financial situations.

He said God is able to make all grace abound. Toward you grace for a living power to live. But listen here in James chapter 4 and verse 6, but he giveth more grace. Now underscore the word grace. Wherefore he saith now he's quoting an Old Testament scripture back in Proverbs 334.

He says God giveth more grace. God resisted of the proud. Now look at that God resisted the proud. But he what he giveth grace under the humble we need to see that today he giveth grace under the humble.

Now when we ever see that word, but. That's contrast. He said that he giveth more grace. He resisted the proud but giveth grace under the humble. What does that mean? Now right from the very beginning as I've already mentioned.

He's talking to God's people. He's not talking to the lost. Although this could be true of them, too. But he said God's stiff arms the haughty heart. He says I want to bless you, but I can't do it. I cannot get near to you.

God sets himself in a ray against the haughty heart you see. When we are humble and our mind is lifted up and prideful. It reminds God of the mentality of Satan Lucifer it reminds God of the first sin and all of the universe.

That's why the Bible says that pride a prideful look is an abomination to the Lord. In Proverbs chapter 6 one of the seven abominations. He said a lofty look a proud look is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.

Submission to God and Delegated Authority

But look there in verse 7. He says submit yourselves. Therefore would there we see that word therefore again on the basis of what I've just said James says Submit submit yourself to the authority of God submit yourself to delegated authority that could be in the home wives to husbands and God's people in the church.

Obeying them that have the rule over you a right kind of submission therefore because God will resist you because of your pride. Submission is so important. You must submit to delegated authority. Submit yourselves therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you now.

You see that word resist in verse 7 and then you see the word resisted in verse 6. God says that we are the resist the devil to immediately oppose him. That's what it means. Now if you have pride in your heart God says he will immediately oppose you like we are supposed to immediately oppose the devil.

We're not to linger on the temptations of such say we're not to meditate on them. But once you know that that is a temptation from the devil you are to immediately to reject that from your thought life as Jesus.

He did not argue with Satan. He did not rationalize. He said it is written man shall not live by bread alone. By every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God and so God says it's submission humbling yourself now.

Let's turn over there. To first Peter. We'll see a parallel passage first Peter chapter 5 and Verse 5. You can't miss this my friend. You'll see this over and over again in the Word of God. It's brought out repeatedly.

Likewise ye younger submit yourselves unto the elder. Ye all of you. Be subject one to another and be clothed with humility like a garment that is wrapped around you for God. Resisted the proud and giveth grace unto the humble.

You see that parallel passage. Humble yourselves therefore on the basis of what's just been said because God resisted the proud but he giveth grace unto the humble. Therefore humble yourselves unto the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.

Casting all of your care upon him for he careth for you. Be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion. Why does he always talk about? Satanic oppression and satanic affliction when he talks about humility and submission.

Because submission to God's Authority and delegated authority puts a protective hedge around your life and around your family and around this church. When we resist God and his authority and delegated authority We open a hole in God's protective umbrella over our lives.

Giving place to the realm and power of Satan. Because rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. To reject the authority of God and to reject delegated authority is like fooling around with the tarot cards.

It's like dabbling into the occult. That's why we see today when men and women oppose God's delegated authority in the church that their lives are given over to satanic harassment. That's why when they oppose.

That's why we see in the Old Testament we find that when men Revolted against Moses and Aaron that God's greatest judgments fell on the children of Israel. You look at it. You find that when Korah raised up against Moses and Aaron that God was so angry that he claimed the earth and all.

Of those Israelites and those princes and those men of renown fell into hell. Screaming and wailing God opened up the pit and they fell literally into hell because they revolted against God's delegated authority.

Samuel said for God desires obedience. Obedience better than sacrifice. Because rebellion and self-will and stubbornness is the sin of the hour. Today men are revolting against authority in the classroom in the schools.

No one wants to be under authority today. No one wants to be under authority in the church. But we need to realize that this is God's way of protecting our homes and our families and our lives. Because God says even for preachers and leaders in the church be subject unto them.

He says obey them to have the rule over you because they must give charge of your soul in the day of judgment. And God goes on to say that they may do it with joy. Do you know that we as ministers of Christ must give account before you in the day of judgment.

That's an awesome responsibility that we must speak of the things that we've seen with our eyes and heard. God says we will give account in that day of Judgment, and that's why we see again and again.

Grace as God's Power and Desire to Obey

Oh, there are so many principles here that we could get into here, but let me read something to you. I want to read an Amplification of what Greece of what the word grace means. A Definition of grace now.

I want to give you two definitions of grace. One definition, I'm sure that you've heard grace is unmerited favor. Something that you don't deserve. For by grace are you saved through faith when Jesus came to you?

You didn't deserve his love. You didn't deserve his mercy. I didn't deserve it. We were yet sinners. Christ died for us. We're yet sinners, but God in his mercy who loved us. He called us with a holy calling on to himself now.

That's one definition of grace unmerited favor something. You did not work for something. You did not earn. Jesus paid it all but I'm going to give you another definition of grace. That will change your way of thinking that will add a completely new dimension to your Christian experience.

Grace is the desire and the power to do the will of God. Grace is God enabling you in your will. Giving you the power and the desire to obey him. You can't obey God without his grace. You can't keep the commandments.

You can't pray. You can't have that quiet time and grace comes through humility. Grace comes through brokenness. God said he resisted the property giveth grace into the humble. There's an infusion of God's grace through brokenness.

Now, let me read from a scripture and Philippians 2 13. You need not turn there. I'll read it to you. It says for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Now, let me read some other renderings of that scripture for it is God himself.

Whose power creates within you both the desire and the power to execute his gracious will. It is God who energizes within you both the desiring and the energizing. Who makes you willing and gives you the energy to do what he wants you to do?

Listen to another one. It is God who in his goodwill is at work in your hearts in your innermost being. Inspiring your will and your actions, isn't that powerful? You know, sometimes we pray Oh God. Give me the power to overcome this sin.

You know what you need to pray or give me the desire to get rid of it. Because there is what is we sin because we want to sin. We are bitter because we want to be bitter. We want to harbor bitterness.

We're on ring. We're angry because we want to be angry, but we need to pray Oh God, give me the desire to depart from the sin. One day I was driving down the road and I said Oh Lord God. There was something that was plaguing my mind and I said Lord God give me the power over this sin.

That is unscriptural. The power is available and the Spirit of God spoke to me not in an audible voice, but he made a deep impression in my heart and He said don't say that. John just impressed in my heart a prompting of the Spirit.

Pray give me the desire. Oh Lord, give me the desire to depart from that sin. Give me the grace. Jesus said without me you can do nothing and When he said nothing he meant nothing. He said without my power flowing through you you could do nothing because this Christian life is a supernatural experience it's an exchange life and You must have my power and my grace flowing through you.

I'll get that definition down if you can the desire and the power to do the will of God. Write that down in the flyleaf of your Bible write it down anywhere. It will change your life as you meditate on it and you realize that when you have struggles Oh Lord, you work within my heart.

You give me the grace. I humble myself before you. I realize this is sin before you. Some people can't get over bitterness because they're unwilling to forgive what someone has done to them. They've been hurt.

They've been harmed and their rights have been violated. You've got to give up those rights to God. You have no rights, but to obey the Lord. We must we must realize that as Christians. And we need to realize that if we harbor these things that were the losers.

Desire Energizes Christian Service

Oh This is tremendous. Let me give you some illustrations just to kind of Vividly bring this to our attention here. You've got a man that's been working. We'll stay in the ranch all day, and I know that it's a lot of work.

I've never been there. But I've worked in factories and I know how fatigued some of those men get and they they're on the ranch all day long and they've been maybe there for 18 hours and they get home and They get in that recliner and they grab that handle on that recliner and they get almost to the last click.

And all of a sudden that wife comes in and says wait just a minute honey, just take it easy for a moment here. Could you take out the garbage before you get too rested and He begins to say oh, I just I can't.

I can't get up. I'm so tired. I'm so fatigued. Let's just take for example. It's earlier in the afternoon or just after the night. Maybe not 18 hours. But all of a sudden the phone rings. There's a phone call.

It's Charlie down the road and where I live there are a lot of lakes. He says how would you like to go fishing? This poor man is so worn all of a sudden there's an energy that flows through his body and He's looking for his real and rod.

There is an energy and power in desire here. You've got a young man. That's been at school all day long. It's been hot. He's gone through a lot of tests. He comes home and he sits down. His mother should know Billy I would like you to go mow the grass and the excuse to start flying but mom it was so hard I'm so tired and then she said well Billy we were gonna take you swimming.

After you mow the grass all of a sudden Billy's flying out into the garage and the grass is whirling through the air. What changes him what gives him that dynamo? What gives him that energy? It's desire.

Have you ever had that experience in your life? Well, you're totally fatigued. You were totally worn out and then something exciting happened. Something that was just a joy to you and there was an energy it quickened you it empowered you.

Because desire has power God says he works in our desire. You know why so many of us we don't want to read the Word of God or we don't want to witness or we went out. Do a number of things in the Christian life is because we don't have the grace of God beloved.

You can't make people witness you can't bring them under a guilt complex. You can't do all these things. We've got things backwards. We got the cart before the horse today. People need to be led into revival first and then they will obey the Lord.

That's why I believe that revival personal revival. Proceeds effective evangelism or service. First of all, you've got to have grace from God and people will just naturally move out and Obey the Lord because they have that desire within their hearts.

Oh, I'll tell you desire will put a man on a golf course even when it's raining. Now you don't have many golf courses around here, but where I live there are all kinds of golf courses one day to my utter Amazement.

I was driving down the road and it was pouring out and just by chance. I looked to my left and I couldn't believe my eyes. There are men there on the golf course with little red and white umbrellas and They have their golf clubs in one hand of the umbrella in the other hand.

And they were in there in the rain. Now what would take those men to that golf course? It's a consuming desire. You know, but revival is a blessing because God gives you a desire to do the things of Christ when people begin to get a desire for prayer and Desire for the spiritual things and they begin to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory and they say yes.

It's a labor, but it's glorious. It's wonderful. It's a joy to serve the Lord and today we are not serving the Lord because we don't want to serve God. We're not giving ourself completely to the work of Christ because we simply don't want to and we need that.

The grace of God to flow in and through our lives. Humility is necessary to the service of God and Micah 6 8 you need not turn there. Even in the Old Testament teachings we see this again and again. He showed it under the prophet Micah.

He has showed the old man what is good and what does the Lord require of thee three things? But to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. We need a window open here. It's just a little warm.

Just just a little don't put on one of those ladies. They'll freeze to death and get mad at me. Three things he said to the prophet. He says you must do justly that is obeying the word. You must love mercy.

You must have a forgiving spirit. You must sign to great revival text that preacher been preachers throughout the centuries have been preaching on Revival all my friends if you want a real definition of what revival will do to you.

Study this verse get it into your mind memorize it meditate on the scripture because it's powerful it talks about the effects of revival and. Then in verse 57 in verse 15 chapter 57 15. It starts out like this.

God's Presence With the Contrite and Humble

For thus saith the high and the lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and the holy place now just lift up your eyes for a moment here. This verse talks about it starts with the majesty of God the power of God here.

We see this high and lofty one that is on his throne in the heavenlies. He's seated in the heavenlies above all Principality above all power in the sides of the north this great king this great king of Zion.

There's one that rules over the affairs of men. This one that affairs the rules over the universe his name is El Elyon the God the master of the universe. El Elyon the one that proceeds over all things.

The master of the universe this one is seated on high the cherubim the angels of heaven are praising and there at his command at every moment and. This one is the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity.

Now that's something that boggles our mind that God is from everlasting to everlasting. We see in the book of Kings that the presence of God goes beyond space and time. That the presence of the Lord goes beyond even this creation.

It goes on forever and ever and ever. You know, they say there are planets that are so large that they could not pass between our earth and Sun. Can you imagine that? There are planets that are so vast that here.

Our Sun is so many light years away and then the earth there are planets that are so vast they could not fit between the two and God inhabits eternity. Well that puts goose pimples on my duck bumps almost.

I'll tell you something. That's an awesome thought. To know that this God has never had a beginning and he inhabits eternity. He inhabits from everlasting to everlasting. Not only has he been from everlasting, but he inhabits from everlasting to everlasting.

You know when I was a young boy I tried to go back to The early days and I tried to go back to the garden and then before the creation of man and then to the angels of Heaven and to God but he went on and on and on and on our mind can't take it.

We just can't conceive it. It's not in our hearts. We can't understand it. But this everlasting creator this God of the universe and then he dwells in the high and the holy place the only holy place in holiness.

Now there's only one class of people that this great eternal God that inhabits eternity will dwell with. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also. That is of a contrite and humble spirit. To revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Now right away we see something. God says I'll revive your spirit and I'll revive your heart. Why does he make a distinction? Why doesn't he just say I'll revive your being. Why does he just say I'll revive you.

Why does he say I'll revive your spirit and your heart. Now the spirit of man is God consciousness. Jesus said those that worship me must worship me in spirit and in truth. That spirit of man is that part of our being that communicates with God.

The Holy Spirit of God communicates with our spirit. God says I'll revive that part of your being. I'll give you a fresh infusion of grace into that part of your being you will Have a new sensitivity and a new awareness of God.

A new sensitivity to sin. A new sensitivity to my promptings into my speaking to your heart. A new sensitivity to the things of God to the things that pertain to God's Word. A new awareness of spiritual preceptivity an awareness of God.

He says I'll revive your spirit. That's why many people when they get revived they say all of a sudden the Bible opens up to me. I understand things about God that I've never understood before one man.

You heard his testimony this last week. He says I've been a Christian since I've been 11 years old and he's over 30 now. He says never in my life has the Word of God opened to me in one single day more scriptures open to him that in years.