Spoken Word no. 254
“Humility”
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
June 5th, 2011 p.m.
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Notice that God did not force him to do it, but He
humbled himself.
Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering; So where does humbleness begin? In the mind.
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that
inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; 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. So we see that God wishes to dwell with those who are
humble. Want to dwell with God? Humble Thyself. Let us pray…
Dear Father we are such a needy people
knowing that we live in such a wicked and adulterous world where the Laodicean
spirit has taken such control in the lives of so many. Help us to live a life
that is humble an pleasing to Thee o God, for we ask it in Jesus Christ’s name.
Amen.
This evening I wish to take our thoughts for this
communion service on humility. Because if we are to be conformed to the image
of the first born son, then our spirit must match the spirit of Jesus and our
attitudes must merge with his attitude and our mind with his mind, and our
character with his character. And we see that he was of such a nature that he
willingly humbled himself under the mighty hand of God. As brother Branham said the greatest victory that Jesus had was not at
Calvary but at
From His sermon Perfect
strength 61-1119 P:48 brother Branham said, Who
would think of the humility of His
own Son when He was born in a manger, in a manured barn, in the cow stall, and
was wrapped in swaddlings cloth? See, He could've come through a palace, He
could've come down the corridors of heaven, and all, a full Angel salute. But He chose to make Christ the Example for us,
and He brought Him in humility. He never trained Him in the schools
of this world, but He trained Him by His Own power so He could completely yield Himself, not to the thoughts
of man or the strength of the world, but yield
Himself to the power of God.
Just look at the way Jesus came. First of all he was
born to a woman who was espoused to a man who was already a father with several
children, a widower. He came to this world born in a stable, over a manure
pile, they said he was illegitimate. You see the reproach right from his birth
he had to endure his whole life? They thought, "Surely, that he couldn’t be God to let somebody pull the beard out of His
face and let men with drunken spittle spit it all over his face like they did.
Those soldiers, gambling over his only piece of clothing that hadn’t been
ripped by their whips. And they mocked him and spit in His face, and they
thought he could not be God. And yet he stood there and didn’t even say a word about
it? So they said, "That couldn't be God. Why, God would smite
Him dead."
But
that goes to show just how little people know about God and the nature of God.
So we see throughout the history of man that so many ministers, so many people
get a little something from God, a little gift or some special blessing and they
want to become gods or angels.
From his sermon, Questions
and answers COD 59-0628E P:42 brother Branham said, “And
isn't that just the way that people get today? Let God just bless a fellow and
put a little confidence in him, and he
gets to be a know-it-all. He gets to be... He's got to start an
organization, or he's got to do something that's different. "Why art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer.”
Notice how brother Branham’s thoughts
goes to how Lucifer fell, because of his pride. And how many ministers and
children of God have fallen also because their pride.
Then
brother Branham says, “God has a hard time trying to get somebody that He can deal with, that will stay humble, and meek, and stay in the place until God calls him to do something (you believe
that? See?), a man that God can bless
and he will still keep himself a man, not be an angel or a god. As soon as
man gets blessed and has a little something given to him, he wants to become a god; he wants to become an angel. He wants to become some great person.
"What I do, what... Me and me and mine..." all that. That's the wrong attitude. God's
hunting for somebody who He could bless and pour out the blessings, and--and
more He blessed, the littler the man
will become. And you'll never get
more of God until you become nothing. You've
got to belittle yourself. He that will exalt
himself, God will bring abase. He that will humble himself, God will exalt. You've got to get little before you can get big. And
you'll never be big in your own self;
you'll only be as big as God will be big in you. See?
O what a difference the
So we are looking at a principle of son-ship that
must be spoken about, and it must be taught if we are to be conformed to the
image of the first born son.
From his sermon, Christianity
verses idolatry 61-1217 P:66 Brother Branham said, When
these pagans were converted, they brought in these symbols unto Christianity.
They could not use the Bible anymore, because the Bible exposed this. And
they'll tell you right today that they don't believe That. They say, "It's all right, but the church is the
supreme Word.” Well, we find the same thing in
Pentecost. Don't holler about Catholic, when we're just as guilty, the
Methodist, Baptist, and every one of them. You Methodists so holy, why did you
kill Joseph Smith then? This is
So we see that the true power of the Holy Ghost
which changes lives has been replaced by the power of theology. We got the
right doctrine so we must be right. And yet we have proved by God’s word over
and over again that you can say all the right words, but it is not so much what
you say as how you say it. The word killeth but the Spirit makes alive.
I will never forget years ago I was talking to a
brother who believed the doctrine but his attitude was so far from Christ’s
attitude and that which was displayed in Br. Branham. And this brother was
talking about another brother who was just coming into the doctrine of the
presence, and the brother said, I don’t know if this brother will ever catch
up, he’s at least three years behind…as though God has some timetable or
standard for us to come to the light in. And when he said that I thought, well
that new brother might be three years behind your understanding of the doctrine
brother, but he’s light years ahead of your attitude and Christian living.
And so I do not know what it is in man that wants to
elevate himself at the expense of his brothers. The purpose of the body of
Christ is to build one another up, not to make ourselves look better by tearing
one another down.
From his sermon, Christianity
verses idolatry 61-1217 P:9 brother Branham said, In studying in the early
history of the church, Broadbent's, and Hazeltine's, and many of their comments
on it, Nicene Fathers... And yesterday I just wound up with the complete life
of
So notice that brother Branham terms the real kernel
of the message as our becoming more humble and loving and giving to one
another. Because he said, The
more humbler you can be, the better God will use you. And that is perhaps the reason why so many who are in
the ministry have such little fruits in their ministry. Yet brother Branham
said, the reason why his own ministry was so successful was because of his
great love for people. But what I find is that there seems to be an animosity
amongst so many preachers for the people God has given them to fee. And why is
that? If you ministers out there can not love the people and serve them out of
love for the brethren and for the Word of God then it is time to step down from
the ministry, get a job and at least feed your family without being guilty of
hypocrisy.
From his sermon, Perfect
strength 61-1119 P:112 Brother Branham said, It's the simplicity of the Gospel that
staggers the people. They try to make it a great intellectual
something another, when it's the simple-ness.
But God takes the very tool of humility
and weakness and simplicity to work His works with. That's only a tool in God's hand. John the Baptist, his message,
the forerunner of Christ, so simple it
went over top the heads of the people.
And from his sermon, Perfect
strength 61-1119 P:50 he said, Here's something to console
us. Here's something that encourages. Out
of weakness and humility God chooses the people to build His Kingdom out of.
If we ever get to heaven, if we ever stand in the Presence of God with His
Church, we'll stand in a bunch of people
that's been weak and rejected and cast out by the world, and know-it-nothings.
Isn't it strange that God likened us to sheep? A sheep is the most helpless thing there is. There's nothing so
insufficient of defense than the sheep. A rabbit can run; a squirrel can get in
a tree; a dog can bite; a lion can tear; a horse can kick; a bird can fly; but a sheep stands helpless. That's the way God wants us. Realize that we are totally insufficient,
then God takes that person and begins to mold Himself into that person: make his hands do what God would have hands
to do, make his lips speak what God's lips would speak; because they're not
his; they're God's. He begins to build a character, begins to take this
weakness and to make His Own self.
And again from his sermon, Fellowship 60-0611B P:5 he said, Each
one of us has a different ministry; each one works different. Each one of you
has a ministry, a separate ministry. All that comes into Christ has a ministry.
That's right. Not only the preacher, but
you have a ministry to something, something you can do. And (I hope this
don't sound sacrilegious), but usually
God has to drive you into your correct ministry. Some Methodist brethren,
the other day, had just received the Holy Ghost (they're farmer's up in
The Scriptures are full of advice on how to win
favor with God and man, and it comes down to humility. No one likes a
no-it-all, and God doesn’t either.
The scriptures tell us so much about humility.
In 1 Peter 5:5 we
read, Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace
to the humble.
Again in the book of Acts
20:19 we read, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears,
and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
And in Proverbs 22:4 the
wise king Solomon said, By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
So you want a good life, an abundant
life, stay humble and serve God in humility. You want riches? The same answer?
You want honor? You have the same answer.
In QA God being
misunderstood COD 61-0723E P:68 Brother Branham talks about his own
ministry and the way it operates before the people and he says, “And
may it come to pass that pilgrims and strangers coming by, and drop in that
door and set down a few minutes, and may the Spirit of God be so great in here
till it'll make known the secret of every heart that enters the door. Grant it,
Lord. May it be with such sweetness and
humility, never harsh and rebuking and tearing down. We know the Spirit of
God isn't like that. But how different that is from the puffed up
preachers who use the pulpit as their control tower.
They use the pulpit as their stepping stone to build
themselves a kingdom here on earth, when even the Son of God when asked if He
was God’s son simply said, “Thou sayest”,
From his sermon, Satan's
And again from his sermon, How can I overcome 63-0825M P:82 The
next great assault was that he made upon Him, that He would be a show-off. And how that does hit God's servants, to be a
show-off, to show what you can do. "Glory to God. Hallelujah, I'm a
deliverer. I'm something." See? "Come up here on top of the temple
and set down here." He tempted Him to do it. Now remember, He was tempted
to do it. It was hard. Said, "Now, if you want to be something before the
people, stand up here on this temple and jump off." See? "I'll give you the Scripture for it, because
it's written, 'He'd give the angels charge over thee lest at any time thou
dash thy foot against a stone; they'd bear thee up.'" To make Him a show
off, to show His authority...No true servant of God ever does that. You see a
man showing off, his chest out, and all like that, just remember, there's
something wrong there. No, God don't want that. Jesus set the example. He
could've done it. He certainly could've done it, but He didn't do it. No servant of God is a show-off of himself, to try to take God's power and show
himself above somebody else.
Now, to save time, because what I am trying to do
here is to get you to think in terms of how you can change the way you present
yourself to God and man. Do you come across as an authority every time you talk
to people? Try a little humility, and see how much further your thought will be
appreciated.
Remember the scriptures are replete with instruction
on how to present yourselves in humility.
We read in Proverbs 18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
And so we find in Scripture also that if you do not
humble yourself God will have to do it for you, and I don’t think any of us
want for that to happen to us.
In Deuteronomy 8:2 And
thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty
years in the wilderness, to humble thee,
and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep
his commandments, or no. 3 And
he humbled thee, and suffered thee
to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread
only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man
live.
But
the reason God had to humble the children of
Be not afraid it is I 61-0414 P:65 Some people thinks humility is something that ought to wear a
skirt. No, no. You misunderstand that. Jesus, the humblest Man that ever
lived, He could plait ropes together, and look on them with anger, and run them
out of the temple. Yes, sir. Certainly.
Why 61-0413 P:39 No wonder the Catholic priest has to be so
smart. He's got six hundred books that he has to learn that's just as sacred to
him as that Bible. Six hundred other Bible's like, of other men who wrote books
that he's go to learn. Smart; there's no way to keep up with them, talk about,
when it come to intellectuals. But God
don't use that at all. That's foolish to Him. The humility of believing Jesus Christ, God respects it. Makes it
even the fool should not err in it. Now look here. Jesus in Matthew 10,
had gave them power to heal the sick. They went out and cast out devils, come
back rejoicing and so forth. And ten days after that time, they were totally
defeated on a epileptic case. That's right. I can imagine, hear Andrew say, "Step
back, boys.""Surely you can't do it.""Let me show you how I
done it over in
And
remember the attitude of the Apostles when were still babies being taught.
Jesus had just sent them into the cities
where they were casting out devils, and they came to one town that refused to
hear them, so they got all upset and they said to Jesus, “Shall we cast down
fire from heaven and devour them up? And Jesus turned to them and said, “You
don’t know what kind of Spirit you have on you.”
Luke
9:46 Then
there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a
child, and set him by him, 48 And said unto them,
Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall
receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the
same shall be great. 49 And John answered and said,
Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because
he followeth not with us. 50 And Jesus said unto
him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. 51 And
it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he
stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, 52 And
sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of
the Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53 And they
did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to
So
look at the way that Jesus handled it, he simply went to another city. Why
waste time fussing and fighting over Words, simply dust your feet and move on,
that’s all. Now, if you wish for a
definition of true humility, I would say it is simply doing God’s will. Because
if you are focused on what is pleasing to God then you are not focused on self.
Brother Vayle taught us many principle
and each are very good, but we must also understand the principle of humility.
Because when we put this principle into action, it causes a person to put aside
his own wishes and his own desires become only to fulfill the will of God.
When
a person actually defers his own desires, and manifests or magnifies the will
of God, this is true humility and this is the only way that God life can be
manifested and magnified before men.
By choosing to fulfill God's wishes instead of your own
is our true act of humility, because you are recognizing that God is the
Sovereign One. By choosing to do God's will, you acknowledging there is a
superior intelligence over your own. But when you sin you are in effect saying your desires are
more important than the wishes of God. The sinner attaches more importance to
himself, than he does to God who created him.
In the Hebrew this is called, "Yeshus",
for sin blocks out the light of God to the person because it hides the
importance of God’s light in their darkness. In fact have you ever observed the
fact that most sin is done in darkness, where there is little light to expose
the sin openly. Look at the lighting in pubs, or in bar room, or dance halls,
or bowling alleys, or theatres. It is dark because you can hide easier and be
more comfortable in your sin that way.
People are not comfortable with sin in the light, for
what makes manifest is light. The pervert goes to the theatre to watch sin
in action and sits there in the dark so no one can see him rejoice
in sin. And these places are all designed with that in mind. Bars,
pubs, theatres, most places of entertainment that have vice in mind. They are
darkened for a purpose. Turn the lights out and no one will see. Turn the
lights out and the likelihood of witnesses is marginalized. Make those places
very bright and the clientele will not hang around.
When a person diminishes God's light within himself,
he is diminishing the life within himself. When there isn't enough of God's
light within a person he is subject to the attacks from the forces of evil.
This situation could drive him even further away from
God as Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because
of the blindness of their heart:
Therefore, if God is Humble then true
humility is the highest spiritual level we can attain. But we had better
understand what true humility is or we could embrace a false humility and think
we are ok with God and man. False humility is no humility at all. And people
can go around acting ever so humble and yet in their heart they are puffed up
and self conceited, and everyone will know it sooner or later. As the Apostle
John said, He
that saith he has no sin only deceives himself. And
like the illustration we see in the Scriptures when Jesus met the Pharisees,
who thought because they were so dedicated they had to be right. But as we
pointed out a couple weeks ago, you can be dedicated but are you correctly
dedicated.
John 9:39 And
Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not
might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And
some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him,
Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were
blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin
remaineth.
So just because you act like you Are crawling on your
belly before God like the Muslems do three times a day, that doesn’t mean one
thing to God.
In fact in the Book of Genesis we see that God cursed
the serpent for enticing Eve to sin. “And the Lord, God said to the serpent: Because you have enticed
Eve to break my covenant with Adam,...upon your belly you shall go, and the dust
shall you eat all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:14). So the Jews have a phrase “anavah pasula", which is "and the dust you shall eat," and it refers to
those people who act like they are as humble as dirt, but they are really not. They
fool themselves into thinking and acting like they are like dirt, but they are
just the opposite. These type of people have so much desire for recognition
from others, that they act outwardly as if they are humble and are as low as
dirt. However, inwardly they desire that everyone should respect and admire them
for being humble. This is the highest level of arrogance that there is. This can
be truly be termed eating the dirt of humility from the food of the serpent.
Scriptural Humility where we found it does not speak
of mannerisms or actions, but rather a condition of the mind. For Scriptural
humility is simply knowing your place in the Gospel, or knowing your position
in Christ. Now, in our study we came across a strange verse in the book of
Colossians.
Colossians 2:18
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping
of angels, (Now, as I mentioned last
night the King James version does not translate this right, as it appears to be
saying, "let no man rob you of your reward of worshipping the angels or
messengers." Now, since we know that would be Anti-Christ, Therefore, that
cannot be the correct translation of what the Apostle Paul was saying here.
ASV:
Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of
angels.
KNOX: You must not allow anyone to
cheat you by insisting on a false humility which addresses its worship to
angels…
The right translation, then would read,
"Stop
letting men influence you away you're your reward by using their false humility
and messenger worship, for these intrude into those things which they have not
seen, vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind, 19 And these do not even give
preeminence to the Head, ..
You see, it is
the wrong spirit that intrudes into things they know nothing about, and speak
as though they do. These are those men in this message who come on with a false
humility and such false sweetness until you ask them about the Parousia of
Christ or ask them about the difference between the Father and the Son and they
will snarl and try to keep you from your reward, using their worship of the
messenger and their false humility to do so.
Brother Branham said, "You cannot be
a big shot and be a Christian.
I PETER 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 5 Likewise, ye younger,
submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all [of you] be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to
the humble. Peter is telling us here the way up is down, and the way down is
up. If you want God to exalt you, then you had better approach Him in Humility.
Then Peter says, 6 Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
PRAYER LINE
53-1121 23 That's the way God does: just takes the
nothing to make something. And when you can become nothing in your own sight,
you're becoming something in God's sight then. And always remember this,
friends, the way up is down. "He that exalts himself shall be abased, but
he that humbled himself shall be exalted." So just love Him with all your
heart and forget all you ever knew
about all other things but Jesus Christ. Just go ahead and love Him and work
for Him; serve Him. If He wants you to be the doormat, well, you just be the
doormat and that... It's whatever He wants you to do, you do it. God bless you
now.
INFLUENCE OF ANOTHER 62-1013 123 Always notice, a big man humbles himself. The way up
is down always. Make yourself little, and God will bring you up. "He that
exalts himself, shall be abased, but he that humbles himself shall be
exalted." Oh, my, I like that. Make yourself little; always be little.
Don't be the big shot; be the little fellow. See? God's the only One among us
that's big anyhow. That's right.
MATTHEW 6:1
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye
have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do
not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. 3 But when thou doest
alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy
Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Just
remember that Jesus Christ the son of God was our example and pattern, and as
Jesus said, the
son can do nothing of Himself,I can only do what the father shows me first to
do… so are you willing to admit that also? And he also said, the things I speak
my father commanded me to say and do. And that is what we must do.
Why do you think I speak with so much Scripture and quotes instead of giving
you my own thoughts? It’s because I have nothing to say but what has already
been said.
The
Apostle Paul called himself a prisoner of Christ, and a servant of Christ and he
told us in Philippians
2:13 For
it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. So what he is saying is that
if it were not for God in us willing and doing, we would not even know how to
submit to God’s will and thus do what he wills. In fact Paul even acknowledged
that it is God in
you that is the author and finisher of your faith. So that takes you
out of the picture altogether, so then where is your bragging?
In Romans 3: 27 Paul said, Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of
works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Because if Faith is a
Revelation, then where does revelation come from? If something is revealed that
means it was hidden and by Grace it has been unveiled or revealed to you. Then
who has ownership of that which is Revealed? God has. So where is boasting then. What are
you going to boast about? If God doesn't do it, it won't get done, so where then is
your boasting. And Paul said The Love of Christ never boasts in self.
God said he will not share His Glory with any man.
Therefore, He will only use those men who are humble enough to give Him all the
praise, Honor and Glory. Every ministry under the Pillar of Fire that had great
success with men and God walked in true humility. Moses, Paul, Jesus and
William Branham. Each of these men knew their place and did exactly what God
showed them to do. They did nothing more, nor did they do anything less than
what God told them to do. That is true humility. Knowing your place in the
Word.
From his sermon, LETTING OFF THE PRESSURE 62-0622B 14 he said,
Humility is a way to success. That's right.
Now in the next quote brother Branham presents the
disciples talking about Jesus and the woman at the well. They are on their way
into town and they spot him talking to this woman, and they overhear the
conversation, and they can hardly believe what they are hearing. Just think of
it, after following this man for a couple years and finding him without spot in
his life, and then all of a sudden you see him holding this conversation with a
prostitute?
Again we will go back to brother
Branham's sermon on IT IS I BE NOT AFRAID 62-0726 But we come to find
out that He asked her for a favor. He said, 'Bring Me a drink.' Well, we know
that no rabbi, or no one of our Pharisees would ever ask a woman like that to
do anything for him. But here was our Master, the God of creation, setting here
in a body of flesh and asking a woman of ill-fame to bring Him a drink, do Him
a service." Amen.
That's what makes Him God to
me, because He humbled Himself. God is humility. Don't
never forget that. Humility is God. Never boastful, it's always humility. "And we listened at Him.
We thought, 'Surely in a minute He will grab a stick and run her back down to
the city where she belongs.' But He said, 'Bring Me a drink,' and they got to
talking religion. She said, 'We worship in this mountain. You say at
Too many people have the wrong understanding of what
humility is all about. They think the guy who walks around like a dishrag is
the one who is humble or perhaps if they can be compassionate enough then they
are humble. I have seen people in this Message think if they can just say,
"Lord
bless you my precious brother", just the right way, then that
is being humble. But that's not humble. Brother Branham sets the record
straight when he said Jesus Christ was the most humble man that ever lived, and he
took a rope and made a whip from it. But Brother Branham said, compassion is not
human sympathy, but doing the will of God. And that is exactly what
humility is, to know your place and to walk in the order for which you were
called.
Humility is not some feminine or
sissified mannerism, but True humility is knowing your place in the Gospel, and
standing firm, for when you have done all you can do to stand, then just stand.
The reason the children of
Hebrew teaching tells us Aaron displayed true
humility, for he wasn't jealous of his younger brother's achievements. Aaron
merited to the priesthood for himself and all of his descendants because it did
not matter to him that his younger brother greatly surpassed him. Aaron was a
great figure in his own right. The book of Yeheskel mentions that before Moses
became the leader, it was Aaron who was the leader and chief prophet of the
Jews in
This means that Aaron was able to humble
himself and submit himself to the truth.
In PROVERBS 15:33 we read, The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom;
and before honour is humility.
COLOSSIANS 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering;
Now, we have seen that every ministry under the Pillar
of Fire has walked in true humility. Moses, Paul, Jesus and William Branham.
Each knew their place and did exactly what God showed them to do. Nothing more
and nothing less. That is true humility. Knowing your place in the Word.
PHILIPPIANS 2:3 [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or
vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves. And the word lowliness is the same Greek word used for humble
yourselves.
So we see that true humility is a condition of your
mind, and true humility is something you do as a result of understanding your
position in Christ. You see your place in the Scriptures, and then you do what
God says to do, and you say only what God says to say. You have no will of your
own, but you have surrendered what will you did have to receive His will. As
Jesus said, "My meat is to do the will of the Father that sent me."
Jesus said, if you want to be great in God’s kingdom then become the
servant of all. That’s humility in action. The way
up is down.
And from his sermon, ENSIGN AN 62-0119 57 Jesus said in Mark 16, "These
signs shall follow them that believe.” What
kind of an ensign is it? Some great stuffed shirt? No, humility. The Fullness of
God in Christ Jesus made Him walk like a humble peasant, made Him wash the
feet of His disciples, had not a place to lay His head. Some of us calling
ourselves Christians, we go to a place, we got to have the best there is in the
country; got to be guaranteed so much money or we won't go (the evangelist).
Some pastors won't go to a church unless it's a high class and big place. Oh,
my. We need another experience like Paul saw when he was on the road to
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True humility is the highest spiritual level of all.
For Moses, outside of Christ Jesus, was the most humble person who ever lived. I
would say the Apostle Paul and William Branham were a close third. But what
made men like Moses, William Branham and Paul so great was that they like
Jesus, were so humble that they totally nullified every limb in their body to
the will of God. It is the light of God that gives a person life. It is the
light of God that is contained in the food that we eat. Even the Russians have
proved this scientifically with a new kind of camera that shows life in plants
that are living and they can show the light going out as the plant is cut from
its stem and with each form of handling or cooking until the light goes
completely out. It is this light of God that gives our body and soul the
life-sustaining nourishment that we need to live. We can only receive the light
of God indirectly, through the food we eat, because the coarse materialism of
our bodies prevents us from digesting the light of God directly.
It is our ignoring the wishes of God and
submitting to the desires of our bodies that strengthens and fortifies the
coarseness and power of our bodies. When we try to live independent of God, we
become out of touch with our souls and therefore our spiritual sensitivity
becomes dulled. Since Moses eliminated the coarseness of his body, as much as
any human could possibly do, Moses was able to live for three forty day periods
without eating and drinking. It was Moses's great humility that caused his body
to become sanctified. This transformed his body to become like his soul.
Therefore, his soul and body were able to absorb the life sustaining light of
God directly, without having to obtain God's light through the medium of food,
as all other people do.
And so we must have a backbone, but we also must know
our place in Christ. For true humility is knowing your place in the Gospel.
Anyone can fuss and stew over what they think is right or not, but Jesus didn't
act that way. He knew what was right and He stood his ground, and yet He could
have called ten thousand angels, but he didn't. He went to the cross totally
rejected by all, even those closest to him denied him several times. And yet
when he returned to them, he did not lash out at them, he forgave them, and
loved them.
Look, God has called us to be Kings and Priests, and
we have proven this evening that until you can come with humbleness of mind, He
can't even use you. So how are we ever going to be used by God if we can't get
ourselves out of the way. Brother Branham said “The greatest gift is to get yourself out of
the way”. That is true humility, because Like Jesus, you can humbly
and honestly say in your heart, "not my will but thy will o God."
Let us bow our hearts in prayer.