Clothed in Humility, Part Two — K.P. Yohannan

The right kind of clothing, next on The Road to Reality with Brother K .P. Yohannan.

The ultimate proof of my humility, your humility in life, is our willingness to experience death to ourselves. It never comes in 24 hours. It is a process. It is a process.

We all get dressed before we start our day or go off to work. Some of us have a particular uniform that's vital to the job that we have, and in that sense, it's necessary to function correctly. Well, likewise, in the Christian life, there's also a particular clothing that we need as well.

Welcome to The Road to Reality with Brother K .P. Yohannan, President of Gospel for Asia. Today, we're going to bring you a message entitled Clothed in Humility. Brother K .P. will share some thoughts on the need for humility, especially that we learn to humble ourselves.

And now, here's Brother K .P. to examine 1 Peter 5 and verse 5.

Humility as the Foundation of Christian Service

I think there is only one thing I know, in honestly on my thinking, there's only one thing that I know that we can do to guarantee or assure that we will continue to serve the Lord with what we have from the beginning.

That is, again, based on the scripture we read last week, 1 Peter 5, verse 5, if you remember that. It says, all of you, clothe yourself with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but give grace to the humble.

Humble yourself, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. You know, they lift you up, you know, unless you're careful, we can think about money and riches and positions and title.

It's not that. I think it's much more sacred and holy than that. That is, having the privilege to come very close to the Lord, understand his ways. It is so very significant. The more we go down, the more we go up.

This is upside down kingdom. So, what is it that is more important than a lot of other things we can talk about for us to maintain this ministry this called the Lord gave us? And I would say, as a continuation of what I've been talking to you last week, that is, each one of us, as individuals, embrace as a choice the life of humility or walk in humility, also collectively.

And it says, all of you, that includes me, you, everyone, clothe yourself. That is, when you look at me, when you hear my conversations or my reactions or responses in different circumstances, or my decisions, the way I treat you, the way I deal with you, either you will see humility, you know, clothed in humility, it says he's colored, he's shaded, he's, you know, there is something about it, or you will see the pride, the arrogance.

And the more discernment people have, they will see through it. You can pretend to be humble, but they can see, yeah, this is just, you know, it's another approach to get things done, things like that.

If you get upset with someone or your wife or husband or, you know, colleague or something, of course, you know, that is not being humble. But when you come back and say, you know what, I missed it, I ask your forgiveness, I failed there, all of a sudden, you are clothed again, you are no more in the old frame of reference there.

And this is something, unfortunately, I wish we could take it one time like a vitamin pill and all of a sudden everything is fixed. No, it is like daily brushing teeth and eating your Vitamix. It's something we have to do always.

Christ's Humility and Obedience Through Suffering

But how do you go about doing that? That is the question. For this, I'd like you to look at this scripture portion in the book of Philippians, chapter 2. Now, this verse 8, if you look in the verse, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death on the cross.

Do you see that progression here? It says, Jesus humbled himself. Father didn't humble him. The Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Romans didn't humble him. No, he humbled himself. It began, obviously, with his upbringing imperfect parents who didn't know what to do, what to say, what not to say.

I mean, here's the almighty God in flesh, the perfect individual, watching all that. How did he put up with all the weary times and the craziness and watching them and not be preaching at them, screaming at them, don't you know I'm God, you should do like this.

Just being totally silent, not correcting, not rebuking, but going through, just submitting to his parents. Then, you deal with people that he had as disciples, supposed to be good people. Now, you know their story.

How did Jesus live with Judas? It says, he was a thief from the beginning. It amazes me when I know in the ministry, no matter where I am, there's some problem. I'm very eager to fix it. Now, it amazes me, Jesus knowing this guy is stealing money all the time, didn't do one thing about it.

Even till the last second, the disciples are not able to figure out that he's a crook. What kind of nature Jesus had, living with such adversity, such pain, such inconveniences, submitting the circumstances, the father put him in.

It's amazing, the whole world, the billions of galaxies and the whole everything seen and unseen, created by him and sustained by him, even while he lived on earth. He was the glue. Now, he must submit himself to the elements he created and to the people he created.

What kind of submission is that? He humbled himself continually. I mean, this was a never-ending journey. I think there was not even a minute in Christ's life that he didn't have to lay aside what he wanted.

Jesus' Submission in the Raising of Lazarus

One of the classic examples is Lazarus, when he was sick. One time, only reading John's Gospel, chapter 11, the message comes and says, Lazarus, the one you love, is sick. They didn't say, Jesus, would you please rush and heal him, come and say a prayer, nothing.

Because all they needed was just to tell him, Lazarus is sick. They added one word, you love him. You don't read that statement anywhere, except in this case. What is it? Jesus, as a man, was so affectionate toward this one family.

And there was something about Lazarus, that everybody knew that Jesus cared for him very much. Now he's sick. But honestly, I think Jesus, in the flesh, as a man, immediately got up. And I can just imagine, say, let's go.

But he said, oh no, I must talk to the Father. And he says, Father, what do you want me to do? He said, son, not now. And I can just imagine the conversation between Jesus and the Father. Son, it's not the time.

And so that's exactly what he says, my time is not at come. Days will go by before you go and do the, raise him up. In other words, his own rights, his feelings, his emotion, his, something he wanted to do more than anything else.

He had to give up. He had to surrender. But that actually was the process of Jesus finally receiving the fruit of humility that was death. Now look at that. Humbled himself and became obedient unto death.

I don't think it was possible for Jesus, the man, just to come and go to the cross. The Bible says he learned obedience through suffering, continually saying no to himself and continually suffering. And finally, he gives his life.

And that was the fruit of humility. Now, listen now. Brothers and sisters, dead people don't fight. You can go to a funeral and look at the coffin and this fellow lays there and say, oh, you're the most ugly creature on the whole planet earth.

Look at you. No response. You say, oh man, wow, you look like the most famous, most handsome movie star. Wow. No response. Kick, spit, argue, drag. No response. The ultimate proof of my humility, your humility in life is our willingness to experience death to ourselves.

It never comes in 24 hours. It is a process. It is a process. And so never get discouraged because you see yourself not being so humble, this and that. But here's the thing. Sleeping pill has become one of the major business in the industry.

You watch the television, look like last night there was five times they're selling something. I don't take sleeping pills, but by the time you hear all the side effects, you don't want to take it either.

Just process this. How much attention there is between you and your wife, your husband, your children, your coworker. We don't want to look ugly or you don't want to use curse words and, you know, do the ugly signs that people do on the road and streets.

But how many times have you done it on the inside? Or how many times you cried alone out of self-pity and anger? How many times you said, I'm through with this thing. I can't handle it anymore. No way.

No way. You make your own list of statements and reactions like that. Why is it? Honestly, you are alive and well on planet earth. You are not dead. If you are one having this strife, this grift, this pain at the workplace, in the ministry, in your family and whatever, please, may you realize and may I realize it is not they the problem, it is me.

It is I am not dead yet. But to experience that, that is a problem. How on earth you get there? It is Jesus humbled himself. Use every opportunity you get instead of explaining, defending, arguing to say, this is what it is.

Learn to take the low seat. Oh, not because like Peter did, you know, he took the last seat so he can be the number one person. I'm not saying that. I'm simply saying, you in your own world, you have to look for opportunities where you can honestly say, I'm choosing to humble myself.

I'm choosing not to say what I think I should say. Choosing not to become the rebuker, the corrector, the defender, the arguer, the winner and say, you know, I'm just going to let the Lord work this out.

I'm just going to step back.

You're listening to Brother KP Yohanan today here on the Road to Reality. We'll return to Brother KP and his message titled Clothed in Humility in just a moment. We'd like to send you a free copy of Brother KP's popular book.

It's called Revolution in World Missions. Simply visit our website at gospelforasia .org or call us at 866-WIN-ASIA. We'd love to send you a copy. And now let's return to Brother KP Yohanan for more thoughts on our need to be clothed in humility.

David, Saul, and the Humility of Waiting on God

See, it's easy to pick a bucket of water and wash somebody's feet. It's much easier. But it's much difficult on a consistent basis to say, you know, I'm willing to take this and quietly walk with the Lord and suffer on the inside and trust him to give me grace.

It's much more difficult. David and Saul is a classic example. And to a small extent, I lived out this story three years of my life, years ago in North India. I mean, just think about the situation. I mean, here is God anointed this young man to be the king.

God did it. I mean, he had nothing to do with this thing. But then did he become a king? Sitting on the throne with the crown and no. And who is after him? Saul, the demon possessed guy. Now you know the story.

I don't have to preach on this thing. David had how many opportunities to say, this rascal, get him out of the way. I must fulfill God's call on my life. He didn't. He didn't. He waited and waited. See, if you think you are not getting your share, recognition, approval, affirmation, people not noticing you.

There's no one, no one thinks about themselves bad. That's the thing about it. You are the most important human being on planet earth for you. You know who you are, your strength, your abilities, your background, because there's something about you best in that area.

And you deserve something better. Whatever else that is, I don't know what it is. It's going to be the financial resources or attention or position or chair or room or whatever else. You must know all that.

Can you honestly make a decision saying, Lord, you know, as far as I know, this is the way it's supposed to be, but you know what you're doing. And I'm so grateful. And if you want to be so spiritual, you can take those oppositions as thorn in the flesh.

Paul's Thorn in the Flesh and the Sufficiency of Grace

In 2nd Corinthians 12 verse 9 on, you can read that, you know, Paul says that fantastic words because of the possibility for me to become proud and arrogant and conceited and be destroyed. He allowed this opposite, the difficulties to come.

Some people think it was just people around him. Some people think it was physical problem, whatever it is. And three times he said, Lord, just please heal me, take this out, just get these people out of my way.

And the Lord said, you know what, I have something far more significant plan for your life. You want me to be with you always. You want not to lose the grace. You don't want to miss being near me. And I imagine, yeah, a million times.

Yes, Lord, please. Paul, if that be the case, embrace the thorns, live with inconveniences and live with the rejection, live with the pain, live with disappointments, because I just want to make sure that your flesh will not end up destroying you and you'll walk away.

So when you and I can come to the place, when we take our adversities, our problems or whatever we are dealing with, it could be somebody you're working under or working with. And if you are able to say, Lord, I have no difficulties.

You are there and I trust you. And able to, it says, I gladly therefore rejoice and glory in these problems, so that I can stay humble. It's almost you have to walk out of yourself and look at you and talk to you.

There's no other way we can make sense of it. Because I had to do that last night. I had to do that a couple of times this week. I had to look at me and realize that it's a choice I must make to live and walk on this road.

It says in 1 Peter 5, in due season, at the right time, every instant I have to go through something similar, where I have to give up something and be patient and not get upset and all those things. In due time, God has such a beautiful plan.

Humility as the Path to Experiencing Christ

Now I'm tired of hearing that God has a wonderful plan for your life. It always has to do with something to do with big ministry and money and title and all kinds of things. But I think the only thing, and I say the only thing, the most important thing the Father is concerned about, is how we're going to end up in the end, the finished product.

And this is a classroom. This is not where it is. Vitabix will come later. This is a classroom in which the Lord brings about every circumstances to teach us humility. Why it is? Because only through that we experience Christ.

I may enter into the suffering that I may understand Him. Brothers and sisters, if we live, if I choose to live like that and if you choose to live like that, then we will never lose what we got. Our prayers will be answered.

It will be effective. But in closing, let me say this. Sometime I tell my struggles to you so that it will become encouragement to you. Paul talked about his excitement and his incredible joy to live with the problems.

And he says, I go after it now. I don't want to give it up. For the sake of humility, if you study his life, he didn't say that two years after conversion. It's a long journey of huge accomplishment, being taken into the very presence of God and all the revelations that no one can even talk about.

The Hidden Pride of Mature Christians

That is, there is a built-in danger for those who are older Christians. There's a built-in danger if you study the Bible very well and you know your doctrines. There is a built-in danger if you are a missionary and a worker of God for a long time.

Why? Humility essentially is of the heart. Even today after doing a teaching, and I wonder, I hope that went good. Then sometime I'm waiting to see who is going to come and tell me that was a good teaching.

I think encouragement is wonderful. We should say good things to each other. But the problem with older Christians and those who walked with the Lord long enough, the sad thing is this. Deep down in our heart where nobody sees, after our teaching and preaching, we are looking for someone to say wonderful things.

After we have done something significant, either writing, or working in the finance department, or leading worship, or sound systems, or account department, whatever you may be, or you know cooking and cleaning all day long, for the husband can work in the office, oh God, and whatever else.

Somehow we can develop a path and a habit of always looking for someone to notice, someone to say it, someone to say he's able, so can be promoted, and all these different things. I'm not saying it is not in the human nature to be appreciated.

We should definitely do that for others. But then if I can come to the place where after I have done everything, I come and stand and say, Master, what do you want me to do now? I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I worked all day long in the field, but now I wait upon him, and then I cook meal for him, clean the house, and put everything on the table he feeds.

It's 11 .30, 12 in the night, and I should not say to myself, man, I did something so great for God, I'm such a servant. No, I must say, I'm so unworthy. There are a million people out there, far more greater, educated, significant, healthy, and whatever standing in queue, just to have the privilege to be living in the same house with this Master.

Very convicting message from K .P. Ohana today, here on The Road to Reality, the outreach of Gospel for Asia. If you'd like to learn more about Gospel for Asia, we'd love to send you a free copy of Brother K .P.'s most popular book.

It's called Revolution in World Missions. For your free copy, simply visit our website at gospelforasia .org, or if you're in the U .S., call us toll-free, 866-WIN-ASIA. Brother K .P. founded Gospel for Asia to train, equip, and support an army of Native missionaries to effectively share the Gospel with the billions of people currently residing in Asia, those who've never heard about the forgiveness and grace in Christ.

And what we'd like to ask of you is that you first and foremost consider what K .P. has said today. Let the Lord challenge you to take up your cross and follow Him. And then secondly, pray about helping to support a Native missionary through Gospel for Asia.

You can do this for as little as $30 a month, and 100 of your support will go straight to the mission field, enabling these Native missionaries to go out and literally lay down their lives for Christ.

You can find out more by visiting our website. It's at gospelforasia .org. And by the way, when you support a missionary, you'll also receive an information packet with the missionary's picture and background.

This will help you to pray for your Native missionary on a daily basis. And when you're ready to sponsor a missionary, visit our website. Again, gospelforasia .org. Or if you're in the U .S., you can call us toll-free, 866-WIN-ASIA.

And then join us next time, won't you, for more teaching and updates from Brother K .P. here on The Road to Reality, sponsored by Gospel for Asia.