The Power of Humility
Scripture Reading: Act 2: 46 (NIV)
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,”
Message: The Power of Humility (#4 in “Power of the Holy Spirit” series)
Paradox of Humility
Humility is often seen as being weak
Perhaps it has something to do with our body language… we have this idea of a humble body language this is similar to a little doggie rolling over
What does a humble body language look like?
Even google’s dictionary does not paint a good picture of humility in its definition: “a modest or low view of one's own importance;”
With this definition of humility it is easy to see why humility is not popular in our culture…
I found a better definition for humility online from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “freedom from pride or arrogance”
Gloveworx says humility is: “the feeling or attitude that you have no special importance that makes you better than others or a lack of pride”
Humility has a lot to do with the way we interact with others - it is a relational thing
The way we compare ourselves with others… a relationship with others and ourselves (It makes me think of the commandment Jesus gave us when he said “love others as you love yourself”)
Does humility have to do with the way we love? I think it does!
To be humble is certainly not being weak
To see humility in the context of relationships and love for each other, certainly confirms that it is not weakness
Collective Humility
Looking at the first congregation, we see that this paradox is true - humility is power! It is a power of the Holy Spirit
Receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, they certainly weren’t arrogant or thinking that they were better than others
There was a collective humility in that group of people being together without arrogance
They were together with sincere hearts and being glad - no one had a chip on their shoulder
They were sisters and brothers in Christ - a family, a collective
Collective humility is powerful
You can call humility a personal trait of power, but the power of humility was amplified in the way it functioned in a group setting
That is what made the church attractive
That is what people from the outside noticed looking at this group of believers
Humility brings a new perspective
Humility has the power to help us see our surroundings in a different way
It helps us to look away from from selfish needs and see our role in something bigger
It helps us to understand that we are all servants in God’s kingdom
Servants serving alongside each other on equal terms
The absence of arrogance creates healthy interactions - a sense of working in the same direction as opposed to everyone working with their own agenda
Humility can also be healing when we go through a tough time, helping us to find a new purpose beyond our circumstances
Church of Humility
Humility was a core value of the early church
They lived with an attitude of “it’s not about me” and “I am part of a bigger picture/ collective”
Church was able to grow rapidly because of the power of humility
There was no place of arrogance or self-centredness among them
That enabled them to work together in the same direction
That enabled them to work together as equals, not comparing but focussing on the task at hand
The Power of humility made them an effective church - they got things done (Steven Covey “The speed of trust”)
Imitating Jesus
Our call to worship this morning was a reading from Philippians 2
It started with the words: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus
Paul calls on us to imitate Jesus in the way we interact
He then goes on to describe how we are called to imitate the humility of Jesus
How Jesus was God himself, but did not cling his Godly status
How Jesus humbled himself to become human and endure human suffering
How Jesus humbled to be faithful and obedient to the end - to the his death on the cross
He even describes how that obedience is exalting the Father
Power of humility today
Let us come together in humility - an act of surrendering
Let us receive the power of the Holy Spirit when we humble ourselves
Let us be a church of humility - where the is no place of arrogance or comparison
A church that understands that we are all serving in God’s kingdom, alongside each other
Let us break bread together with a sense of belonging
Let us be together with glad and sincere hearts
Let us see the power of humility at work among us!
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