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HUMILITY IS THE WAY FORWARD
Kris Vallotton | Apr 16, 2020
What the enemy means for evil, the Lord is using for good in our lives. In this podcast, I share what I see God doing in the midst of these challenging times. I want to encourage you today that it is through humility that God will guide us forward!
HUMILITY IS THE WAY FORWARD PODCAST NOTES
I mentioned in my sermon about my message, Sovereign Providence
that I shared in December. The Lord gave me the word "Providence," which means: “God, especially when conceived as omnisciently directing the universe and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence.” God is our divine protection in the midst of a crazy season.
Joshua surveys Jericho and sees a man with the sword drawn. “‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?’ He said, ‘No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.’” Joshua 5:13-14. The Lord is for us and is leading us through this virus. We need to follow.
When the circumstances are uncertain, we get comfort from Who we’re with.
Humility is the way forward. It’s often difficult to see pride in our own lives.
God is looking at the hearts of His people. Trials don’t create the condition of our heart, they just reveal it. Trials don’t make us the people we are, they just reveal the people we’ve become.
Grapevines will spend all of their nourishment to extend the branches and not actually make any fruit unless they’re pruned. When trimming a vine, you trim back the branch back to when the fruit stopped, and then the vine will use it to grow fruit instead of just a branch. When we don’t take our place in humility, we “grow the branch” and end up overextended without fruit.
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
4 Things We Need To Understand About Humility
- Humility towards God must be demonstrated in relationship with people.
- Great grace is only reserved for the humble.
- Not only is God opposed to the proud, but pride is self-defeating.
- God wants to exalt his children. His reward for humility is promotion.
Humility plus nothing equals promotion. It's great to be educated and be experienced, those things are all important in our lives. You could have none of those advantages, and still have humility and be promoted.
Jesus knew everything that was coming against Him, and He chose to humble Himself and wash the disciples’ feet. In the midst of the enemy planning to take down Jesus, He makes the amazing strategic move of humility. In Philippians, Paul writes that we should have this same attitude that Jesus had. Blaming others won’t get us anywhere. Humility is the way forward.
Ahab and Jezebel were famous for wickedness. In the Old Testament, God had planned to send destruction to Ahab because of his wickedness. When Ahab humbled himself, God withheld His judgement.
15 Attributes of Humility
- You actually pray. Prayerlessness is the ultimate arrogance.
- You are able to be influenced.
- You can be corrected without defending yourself.
- You rejoice when others are celebrated.
- There’s no job too small for you.
- You don’t always have to be right.
- You naturally seek advice from other people.
- You are teachable. Once we stop learning we start dying.
- We freely admit our flaws, mistakes, and failures.
- You live to help others succeed.
- You're not easily offended.
- You have a thankful attitude. Thankfulness will inoculate you from arrogance.
- You don’t live with a sense of entitlement; you don’t feel like anyone owes you a living.
- You’re quick to forgive and you don’t hold grudges.
- You're confident in who you are and content in who you're not.
There’s no way you won’t succeed if you find humility.
Scripture:
Joshua 5:13-14, Genesis 37, 39-40, James 1:2-3, John 15:1-7, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6, Proverbs 29:23, John 13:1-17, Philippians 2:5-10, 1 Kings 21:29
In this clip from Bethel Leaders Advance from April 19th, 2018, at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, Kris Vallotton shares with leader’s about God’s heart disciple nations. He highlights the importance of God’s people to be a light on a hill and that the natural byproduct of his restoration and blessing of the Church is that it would heal and transform the cities and nations around us.
In this Father's Day sermon from June 18th, 2023, at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, Kris Vallotton shares an inspiring message on the importance of fatherhood and the role men carry as protectors, providers and promoters for their families and communities. He highlights the transformative impact fathers have in calling their children into purpose and shaping their destinies. Join us as we honor fathers and recognize the profound impact they have on shaping lives and futures.
In this message from June 23rd, 2019, at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, Kris Vallotton delivers a powerful sermon titled, "Becoming a Cultural Architect." Vallotton highlights the importance of shaping culture and the role we play as believers in this process. There is a war happening to shape the mindset of this generation and Kris reminds us to embrace our Isaiah 61 calling, to make disciples of nations and positively impact the culture around us.
