I ask you please to turn with me in your Bibles this morning to Matthew chapter 18 as we come back to this wonderful gospel for today, having been out of it for one week. Matthew chapter 18 page 1133 in the pew Bible as we begin a new chapter in this book and come to the fourth major section out of the five major sections of this gospel. Matthew chapter 18 will be considering verses 1 to 5. Matthew 18 verses 1 to 5. Matthew writes the following. At that time The disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. Before we come to this next section in God's Word, dear brothers and sisters, let's once again pray and ask the Lord's blessings on our time. Let's pray. Our Father, we do confess your greatness this day. We confess, O God, with the Apostle of old, of you and through you and to you are all things. We thank you, O God, that we are counted this day among your people. You have not left us to ourselves, O God, to grope about in the darkness in the world having no hope. But you called us through the gospel. You gave us ears to hear and eyes to see the loveliness of the Lord Jesus Christ as a suitable Savior for our sinnerhood. And we thank you, Lord, that he has redeemed us and that he purchased us and he has made us his own. And this day, O God, we thank you for your mercies and your grace. We thank you for that lovely savior who gave his life, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to you. And Lord, we ask this day that you would help us as we come to consider your word. We ask, O God, that you would drive away the distractions of this week drive away the distractions even before us this day. Lord, give us clarity, we ask. Give us help from on high. Send the Holy Spirit to us to empower us to receive your word into good and honest hearts. Come, we pray, O God. Bless us now in this time. We ask it for the sake of our risen Redeemer, in whose name we pray. Amen. In his outstanding little booklet entitled, From Pride to Humility, Stuart Scott, who currently serves as the Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes the following words. He says, It is probably safe to say that humility is the one character quality that will enable us to be all that Christ would have us to be. He writes, without humility, we cannot come to God. Without humility, we cannot love Him supremely. Without humility, we cannot be an effective witness for Christ. And without humility, we cannot love and serve others. In summary, Dr. Scott says, quote, we must embrace and live out humility in order to truly live and be who God means for us to be. Now, if you're a true Christian here this day, I know that you heartily agree with our brother's statement. Humility which is the disposition of mind and heart, which focuses on God and others instead of ourselves, is an essential disposition which is to mark us as followers of Christ, who himself was meek and lowly in heart, as we read in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 29. Now, I believe that all of us realize that the great enemy to humility is pride. Pride is that which is an abomination in the sight of the Lord, according to Proverbs 16 and verse 5. And in the truest sense, it is the very opposite thing to humility. Pride is that which is at the root of every sin, and it is, as the Puritan Thomas Watson once said, idolatry which causes men to be self-worshippers. It is that which un-God, God, which un-Gods, which seeks rather to un-God, God. Now unfortunately, Pride is not just something which is out there somewhere. It's not just somewhere hovering over us, not just something out in the clouds. Rather, pride is that which exists in each of us. As much as we might hate to admit it, we all have pride in our hearts, and therefore, this is a vice of epidemic proportion. Now, while pride is perilous for ourselves individually, for Before Pride goes destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, Pride is also very dangerous for us corporately as a church because if it's left unchecked among us, it is that which could wipe us out in a moment. My dear friends, Pride is perhaps one of the greatest threats to any local congregation. It is that which would cause great division among us. It is that which could greatly shame the name, honor, and glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord. As we come to our theme today concerning the matter of the greatness of humility and the danger of pride, it's important for us to have a general sense for the context in which this next section in Matthew's Gospel comes to us. Now, as you might recall from the message two weeks ago, we considered in verses 24 to 27 of chapter 17 the matter of Jesus and taxes, and in that section, by way of brief recap, we saw that Jesus, who is the son of God, was technically not required to pay the temple tax because of who he was. Since Jesus himself was God's unique son and his father was the owner of the temple, this particular charge did not truly apply to him. However, as we saw, so as not to offend the local tax collectors, our Lord agreed to pay this fee. Jesus said to Peter, note it there in your Bibles, chapter 17 and verse 27, that although he and Peter were free from paying the tax, nevertheless, lest, or so that we do not offend them, let's do this very thing. Now, what was the What was the central disposition that we see displayed in our Lord here in this instance? What was one of the chief characteristics, if you will, that stands out from him? Well, plainly, it's the matter of humility. Here our Lord could have said to Peter when he spoke to him about paying the temple tax away with such an idea, away with such a notion of me having to pay the temple tax for I am above such things. However, Jesus didn't do this, no. Rather, he humbly submitted himself to the tax at hand. Now, in addition to this grand and glorious act of humility from our Lord. Of course, there is that which our Lord spoke of in connection to his own death back in verses 22 and 23 of Matthew chapter 17 as well. Jesus, as you might recall, had been speaking to his disciples about his crucifixion, which was going to happen at Jerusalem by the hands of evil men. And according to the Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 2, This was the greatest act of our Lord's humility ever demonstrated. For there in Philippians chapter 2, Paul says that although Jesus was equal with God, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Now again, With this background information before us, this is important for us as we seek to get a sense of the stark contrast to that which we have in our passage today concerning the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas our Lord Jesus Christ, in the verses I just mentioned, spoke of self-abasement, here we see that the disciples, in Matthew 8, verses 1 and following, spoke of sinful self-advancement And in this, they greatly erred, as God's people were called to be like Christ in all things, including being humble. However, instead of doing this, we see that the disciples of old, like us oftentimes today, did the very opposite thing. So as we come then to learn from this narrative and to no doubt be challenged, and I trust assisted in our own growth in grace, I ask you to note with me first in the passage of verse one, the self-centered question, the self-centered question. Notice again what we read. Matthew writes, at that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now the words here which begin verse one at that time could literally be translated in that hour. That would be a good translation based on the Greek text, in that hour. And the sense is that this new account happened very shortly after what we just read at the end of Matthew chapter 17 concerning Peter and Christ paying their taxes. Here, the general context seems to be that of Capernaum. and most likely the house of Peter is where this conversation happens and if we look at the other narratives concerning. Rather of the other narratives as they show up in the other gospels. It seems that this question from the other disciples came from a dispute that they had among themselves while they journeyed on a local road. There, for example, in Mark's Gospel, in speaking about what's before us here in Matthew, in Mark chapter 9, we read that when Jesus came into the house, He asked the disciples, saying, What was it that you disputed among yourselves on the road to which Mark tells us that the disciples kept silent for on the road they disputed among themselves who would be the greatest? Well, surely then this must have been a very embarrassing moment for these followers of Christ, especially in light of their humble Lord, these men. who had known the Lord Christ for many years to be very unassuming. They knew him to be this way, and so to be caught in such a debate as this must have been very convicting to them. Who would have the highest rank among us? Who would be preeminent as the disciple of the Lord? They must have been very convicted and challenged as Jesus brought this issue to them. While surely these followers of Jesus did have the future kingdom of heaven in view concerning who would be greatest in it. Here it's interesting to note that they asked Jesus, note the words again, they say who is presently who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, not who will be greatest. And so it seems that they wanted to know who was the top disciple, who was the head honcho, the top dog, if you will, in this present spiritual manifestation of God's kingdom on the earth, which the Lord Jesus brought when he arrived. Here, quite plainly, These followers of Jesus were acting like a bunch of worldly politicians, jockeying for position, power, and authority. And as we know, unfortunately, this question about who would be the greatest disciple was one which would come up again and again with them. And so we see that this is a sin that continues to plague God's people. Well, friends, say that this quarrel among these followers of our Lord clearly indicates that they fail to copy his pattern which he has set before them. Clearly this quarrel indicates that they failed to clearly grasp the plain teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ when he said in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 3 on the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now as a side note, as a side note, it's interesting that the disciples having asked this question, who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? It's interesting to note that none of them said, well, of course, Peter was the greatest. All right. Now, while no doubt the Roman Catholic Church would assume this and would lead us to think this concerning Peter based upon their view of him, it's clear that in the disciples minds that none of them gave Peter the preeminence. No, not one. As a matter of fact, Peter himself never took the preeminent position among the other disciples of Christ. No, rather, he says in his own letter in 1 Peter 5 and verse 1 that he was just a fellow elder among the other elders, a witness of the sufferings of Christ. Now, zero in with me a little bit more on this question concerning what the disciples raised here. We ask, what's so wrong? What's so wrong with their question about greatness? What's so wrong with this question? Who is greatest? Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven right now? Who's the head honcho among us? What's so wrong with this question, especially in light of the fact that Christ had said to them that he was going to die and go back to his father? Well, he's going, so who's greatest? Who's next up? What's so wrong with him? Well, friends, what's so wrong with this question? Was that even though Jesus would be leaving them soon and going back to the right hand of the Father in glory, dear ones, among God's people, there's only to be one who is greatest and that's Christ himself. Jesus alone is to have the preeminence among us, not a man, not a pastor, not another individual. And so such a question is this. should never come from the lips of God's people. Who is greatest among us? Unless we're going to say Christ and Christ alone. That is the appropriate answer. And that is what makes this whole discussion from these disciples uncalled for, ungodly and sinful. Dear ones, Jesus Christ alone is head of the church. And therefore, He alone is to be greatest among us. Jesus alone is our Redeemer. And therefore, He is to be central in all things. The answer to the question, who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven, is always this. None but Jesus. None but Jesus. So having seen firstly the self-centered question, consider with me secondly for today the Savior's answer in verses 2 to 5, the Savior's answer. So as to give his disciples a clear object lesson regarding their self-centered perspectives, notice with me what Matthew writes in these verses again. Then Jesus called the little child to himself. set him in the midst of them and said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. Now, we see here in our Lord's action of setting this child in their midst, who most likely was between the age of one and three, that our Lord wanted to teach his followers a complete reversal of human values. Plainly, using this real-life illustration, this visual aid, Jesus wants to set this child before his followers as a picture of that which is antithetical to worldly ambition and carnal desires. Now, of course, in our Lord's action here, Of course, in this action with the little child, he was in no way suggesting or saying that children are a perfect paradigm for humility. For any one of us who have children, we know that this certainly is not the case. Children, just like all of us, are born in sin. They're born with a sinful nature. This is why David could say in Psalm 51 and verse 5, that in sin did my mother conceive me. So what then was our Lord's ultimate reason for inviting this child to come to him and stand before these men? Why did our Lord call this young one who most likely belonged to Peter's family in the center of them all? Well, it seems, as most writers suggest, that Jesus was using the child as an example of one who was to be copied in that typically very young children exemplify the characteristics of a teachable spirit, simplicity in their desires, dependability on others to meet their needs, and yes, even humility. Here our Lord in teaching the disciples about who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven says, to use the words of verse 4 in this chapter, note them with me, that whoever or more literally everyone who humbles himself or accepts a position of low status as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. So you see that in this sense young children become a model for us as God's saved children. Young children who of course again are by no means innocent and are not to be copied in other ways, for surely we are to mature and grow up in all things. They do, however, become a pattern for us to copy in that, typically speaking, they are unconcerned for social status, the very sin that the disciples were disputing among themselves. These men were disputing about prominence. Jesus says, learn from the little child. So serious was our Lord about this matter. So serious was he about us adopting this childlike, non-self-seeking, prideful disposition that he uses very strong language in verse 3 regarding the matter. Note it with me again. He begins these words by saying, Assuredly, I say to you. Assuredly, I say to you. Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, for those of you who have been with us as I have been preaching through Matthew over the last couple of years, you are familiar with those terms of the Lord Christ. Assuredly, I say to you. Jesus used these words, this phrase, assuredly I say to you, many times and he often uses them in connection to weighty words which he would utter whenever the Lord wanted to give a solemn warning or set forth an important truth. He would say, assuredly I say to you this thing or that thing. For example, he says that in Matthew 5 and verse 18. Assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Assuredly, I say to you. So here in our verse, he begins this discussion with them with the same words again, which means to us and for us, listen up. Pay attention. This is not just some nice little story about Christ bringing a child before himself to teach us about being humble. No. Assuredly, I say to you, pay attention to my words. Assuredly, I say to you, there is a solemn warning and a very vital principle that you must grasp for yourselves. Listen up. says the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this seems plain to me. I trust it's plain to you. However, the question comes when we think about his words that he said to his followers that unless they were converted and become as little children, they will in no way enter the kingdom of heaven. So the question is this. What did Jesus mean when he told his disciples, his followers, that they must be converted? I mean, could it be that Jesus was suggesting to them that at this point they were not saved and therefore needed to be saved? Well, friends, let me just say that I absolutely do not believe this is the case. To me, it seems clear from the gospel record that if we look at the lives of the disciples, barring Judas, of course, that clearly these followers of Christ, by this point, had been converted by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. These disciples had left all to follow Jesus. Jesus had sent them out to preach his gospel. They had stayed close to their Lord, despite the opposition that had come from the religious leaders of the day. They confess Christ as Lord and Savior, even calling Him the Son of the living God. So again, I believe that all of these reasons make it plain that these men were already saved. They were already born again. So why does Jesus then speak to them about being converted? When Jesus speaks to the disciples about this matter of being converted, we ought not to automatically assume that the word converted means to be regenerated, to be saved. As a matter of fact, this word converted here is the standard New Testament Greek verb, which simply means to turn. And this is how it's translated. Ninety nine percent of the times. As it occurs in the New Testament, And this is how the ESV version of the Bible has it. And I believe that this is the best way to understand and translate the word. You see, in this context here, Jesus was not speaking to his followers about being born again. No, rather he was saying what he was saying rather was that unless they turn and repented of their evil self-centered spirit of ambition and prestige, and take on the disposition of a humble child, they would no way enter the kingdom of heaven, and this because they would show that they were never truly saved by God's grace, because all of God's people are able to exemplify such a disposition. He's saying that as Christians, stop acting like worldlings. Act like true Christians who in fact can have a humble disposition in them. Friends, when Jesus said to the disciples that unless you are converted and become as little children, in this context, the phrase be converted and become as little children simply means to do a reversal from the course previously begun and be humble. That's what it means. Stop being prideful. Act like a little child in that the child does not seek for prominence. For if you don't do this, you will prove that you were never truly a child of God. Jesus' words here speak about a complete change in attitude. Or as Matthew Henry rightly says, they speak of being of another mind. They speak of being of another frame and temper. So again, to me and in the writings of many others. This seems to be the best sense for the words before us now. Jesus was not calling these saved believers to be saved. No, he was calling them to have a radical change in their mindset regarding greatness in the kingdom and to live like someone who was saved because living as they were with such a concern for status was not compatible with God's scale of values. Listen to Albert Barnes in this regard. Barnes writes, quote, The verb converted here means to change or to turn from one's habit of life or set of opinions to another. He says, quote, It sometimes refers to that great change called the new birth or regeneration, but not always. In general, it is a word which means any change And therefore, here, it does not imply that the disciples were not Christians before or had not been born again. Rather, it means that their opinions and feelings about the kingdom of Messiah must be changed. And I think he's absolutely correct. Again, listen to Spurgeon in this regard. Spurgeon says, quote, The apostles were converted in one sense, but even needed a further conversion. He says they need to be converted from self-seeking to humbleness and content. He writes, a little child has no ambitious dreams. He is satisfied with little things. He trusts. He aims not at greatness. And therefore, to rise to the greatness of grace, we must go down to the littleness, the simplicity and the trustfulness of childhood. Spurgeon writes, quote, Since this was the rule for the apostles, we may depend upon it. We cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven in any less humbling manner. And this truth is verified by our Lord's solemnly attesting words when He said, Assuredly, I say to you. So friends, I pause then for a moment. And I ask you to ask yourself, what kind of spirit is in you? What kind of disposition do you have? It's a call for self-examination. A dear friend, I ask you, are you one who must always be greatest among us? Or are you one who is willing to have and to take on a humble position? This is what Jesus is getting at. Assuredly, I say to you, disciples, unless you turn and copy this little child, you won't enter the Kingdom of God because you'll show yourself to be not a true disciple. So ask yourself today, of what spirit are you? Do you have within yourself, by the transforming power of the Gospel, a disposition which says, Lord, yes, sometimes I seek to be great, but Lord, I know it's wrong, I know it's sin, and Lord, I will repent of this evil and I will take a lowly position. What spirit is in you, Christian, here today? Now, I know that this spirit is completely antithetical to that which would be in unsaved people. I know the spirit is completely antithetical to the American way which says, be the greatest, come what may. Strive for prominence in all things. But that's not the way of Christ. That's not the way of peace with God and a peaceful walk with Him. That's not the way of keeping peace in the church. That's not the way of glorifying Christ and His most holy name. No, that's worldly. That's carnal. That's devilish. That is not of Jesus. What kind of spirit is in us? Do we have the disposition which allows us to yield to our brothers, our sisters? Do we have the disposition in us by God's grace because He saved us and because we're Christians which says, I will prefer this one even above myself. Or is there something in us which is always driving to be first? and to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Now, dear friends, it ought not be with us. This should not be our disposition. And if it's our ruling disposition, it might be that we're not saved. But if that disposition has been broken by God's grace, and yet we still fight with it and against it, then it is most likely a clear indication that we are the children of God. We see pride as that which is ugly. Pride which is that which is to be repented of. Pride, as the Puritan said in the outset, that which seeks to un-God God. And we must cast it far away. We need to examine ourselves in light of the question, what kind of spirit is in us? Well, our Lord ends then this first section in this new chapter of Matthew with the words of verse five. Note the words again. He says, whosoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. Now what did Jesus mean in these words? Well, it seems that he's now moving away from the particular little child, which was before him and the disciples, to now speak about anyone who truly imitates this child. That is to say, anyone who's a true Christian. Whoever receives one little child like this, When Jesus speaks like this, of us receiving one like this in His name, or on the basis that He belongs to me, it seems that what Jesus is saying here, to answer my question, is that as we joyfully welcome the true children of God who have been born again, that we receive Christ Himself And this because the two are inseparably joined together in that dynamic spiritual union. Whoever receives a little child like this, that is to say a Christian, a truly saved person, one who prefers others above himself, one who does not seek greatness, whoever receives a true Christian in my name, or on the basis that they belong to me, they receive me because I am inseparably joined to that one by faith. Now, that seems pretty straightforward regarding verse 5. But we might wonder, why did Jesus bring up this matter, this verse, in this context? And it is interesting that a lot of commentators, when they comment on the various sections in Matthew, they stop at verse four and join verse five with the following words to verse nine. Some do that, and I can understand why, because they don't quite see how it fits with what's going on before us now. The words seem a bit off topic concerning greatness. But actually, they're not. Because whereas Jesus just called us in verses 1 to 4 to humility, now in verse 5, he gives us a very practical way for us to practice humility. Jesus says, do you want to move away from a self-centered disposition of having to be greatest among others? He says, welcome. Christians. Receive them as special guests. Treat them well. Put them above yourself. Esteem them higher than yourself. For in doing this, you will learn humility. And in doing this, true greatness will be manifested in your life. So the verse seems to be a corrective. You're seeking to be greatest? Don't seek to be the greatest. Seek to joyfully receive others. And receive them in a way which sets them high above your own self. Receive them joyfully. Welcome them as God's people. And as you do that, you will be placing yourself lower and lower. So ends this first new section in Matthew chapter 18. Having spoken at the end of chapter 17 about how our lives are to be regulated in the non-Christian community in connection to paying taxes, here now Matthew has taught us through Christ's words how our lives are to be regulated within the Christian community itself. Outside, pay taxes. Inside, especially be humble among yourselves. Friends, again, I say there is a great enemy in each of us which could destroy the work of God among us. There's a great enemy which would cause us great harm in the church. And as we consider to make our way through Matthew 18, you will see again that the focus is the church. Matthew 18, if your brother sins, tell it to the church. So Jesus here is thinking of the gathered people of God and how we need to function one with another. And He begins by saying, watch for the great enemy called pride. The enemy is That selfish desire to put ourselves above others. That selfish worldly desire for fame and glory. And here our Lord says, assuredly, I say to you, get rid of such a disposition. Assuredly, I say to you, flee from it at all cost. And if you do, You will be greatly blessed and preserved as a congregation of Jesus Christ the Lord. So ends then this section here in Matthew. And I want to close by drawing out some applications. Firstly for us who are true Christians here in this place. You're here today. You've been saved by the grace of God. What can I say to you based upon the passage for today? Well, there are two things, and the first is this. Dear Christian, dear believer in Christ, you must of necessity continue to make strides in being a humble person. You must continue to make strides in being a humble person. Now, this is the obvious, the obvious import of the text, right? That's obvious. However, as I said in the outset, although we might not like to admit it, pride is lurking within all of us. As much as we might hate to admit it, so few of us truly resemble a little child when it comes to not pushing for prominence. So few of us really resemble such a disposition. And that's what makes this passage so challenging and so convicting, because pride is lurking within all of our hearts. And friends, this is a terrible sin, and therefore we must fight against it. We must deal with it in our lives. We must continue to make great strides in being humble as Christ followers. And so how can we weaken pride in our lives and cultivate the disposition which Christ calls us to have? Let me suggest five ways, and the first is this. If we are to grow in true humility, which of course, listen closely, which of course does not mean hating ourselves or having low self-esteem, or having a low opinion of our own gifts, or being full of self-pity, which is another form of pride, by the way. No. But if we are to grow in true humility, which simply means rightly thinking of ourselves, thinking rightly of ourselves, wherein we recognize our own insufficiencies and shortcomings, if we are to grow in this grace, then first and foremost, we must reflect often on the life of Christ. The life of Christ. How can I learn to be more humble, Pastor Ventura? How can I run from pride, seeing the great dangers which are connected to it? For before pride goes destruction. How can I grow in this grace? Firstly, reflecting often on the life of Christ. Dear friend, If you want to be humble, study the life of Christ. Study the life of Christ. Consider Christ who was willing to be clothed with our humanity and all the limitations thereof. Consider that. Consider being in this straitjacket of humanity and all the limitations thereof. Think about a jacket being close fitting. Some men don't like that because they like to move around a lot. It's annoying for the full day. You have to wear a jacket, go to a wedding or something. But think about Christ. The God who fills all in all. The God who in the beginning was with His Father in glory. Having taken to Himself Our humanity. Our nature barring sin. And having to live within the confines of the creatures He made. So that as truly God, though also truly man, he would become hungry. God who supplies all things to all people became hungry. Became tired. Would need to rest. would ask someone to grab him some water so that he could be refreshed. Think about the life of Christ in that regard. Clothing himself in our humility and in our humanity. Consider Christ who was willing to be baptized by John the Baptist. And if we read the narrative closely, we'll see that Jesus waited on line to be baptized by John, while multitudes were going to be baptized by John, confessing their sins and entering into the Jordan. John was struck by the whole scene, was he not? You come to me to be baptized? This is totally wrong. I'm not worthy to Lose the latchet of your shoes. You're the great Son of God. You come to me, Jesus says, permitted to be so. Consider Christ who left the glories and the riches of heaven to live a life of poverty on earth. For the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head. Consider Christ who ministered to others constantly. and gave His all for people. Wherever He went, and on all occasions, serving, serving, and serving. Consider Christ who after receiving that grand and glorious revelation from the Father in John 13, that all things had been given to His hand, and that He was going back to the Father. The passage says that Jesus knowing this, knowing that all things had been given into His hands, and that He was going back to the Father, took the basin of water and started washing the disciples' feet. I mean, you talk about a time for pride to come out. I don't know how it was, how in His divine mind He had a heightened sense That He was the man, if you will. That all things are in His hands now. And instead of saying, huh, look at me, He took that low position. So much so, that Peter could say, Lord, what are you doing? Lord, You are the Lord of glory. This will never happen. Jesus says to Peter, not only your feet, I'm going to take care of all your things, Peter said. You know the story. If Lord, if I'm not washed by you, I have no part in your kingdom. Wash me from head to toe. But Peter was amazed at the humility of Christ. That like John the Baptist, he tried to stop him in this particular act. And consider Christ, as we've talked a little bit about his life and we've seen many times in the gospel record, who after he had done Great miracles. He had to tell his disciples, tell no one about it. Don't say a word until after I am raised from the dead. They will try to make me a king. I didn't come the first time to be king. And we might say, publish the thing abroad. Turn on the spotlight. Let me get glory to myself. He says, uh-uh. Say nothing about it. You want to be a humble Christian? Study the life of Christ. Secondly, if you're going to grow in true humility, If we're all going to do this, we need to study the cross work of Christ. The death of Christ. Think about, as Paul said in Philippians 2, he humbled himself even to the point of death. God the Son became the Son of Man and was willing to be stripped naked on the cross. Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, willing to be mocked, whipped, beaten, his garments divided before him. And then to take the sins of his people upon himself and to bear God's wrath in their stead so that their sins could be forgiven, Here, the Creator of heaven and earth was naked and impaled on a cross. What did the hymn writer say about this? But when I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. How could we possibly be prideful people in light of our Savior hanging and dying on a cross? He took such a leap from heaven. The exalted King took the lowest position among men, giving His life for our sins. Thirdly, if we're going to grow in the grace of true humility, We must load our consciences with biblical texts which speak against the ugliness of pride and the glories of being humble, so that the Bible regulates what we do with the Word of God living inside of us. Here I think about such passages as Proverbs 21 and verse 4, which says, A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin. Is it sinful for me to be prideful? Yes! It's ugly in the sight of God. It is pride. It is sin. Proverbs 6.16, where the Lord says six things He hates. Yes, seven are an abomination to Him. And what's the first thing on the list? A proud look. A proud look. In addition, Now, positively speaking, Isaiah 57 verse 15, it says that God dwells with him who has a contrite and a humble spirit. Why should I fight off pride? Why should I not seek to step on the necks of my brothers and sisters, as it were, in the church so that I can have the preeminence? Because God hates it, negatively speaking, but positively, he says he dwells with the one who is of a humble and contrite spirit. And Paul says by way of admonition to the church in Philippians 2, verses 3 and 4, let nothing be done. through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, we are to esteem others better than ourselves, looking not for our own interest, but the interest of others. So, dear Christian here today, may you seek to load your conscience up with biblical text as you wrestle against the pride which is in your own heart. May we all do this We cry out to the Lord that He would help us to serve the Lord well in humility. Since according to James 4 and verse 6, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, we ought to let these truths fill our hearts and minds regularly forth if we're going to grow in true humility. We need to seek to be servants to others. Be servants to others. Now notice I said a servant, not a doormat. Notice I said servant, not slave. There's a big difference between these. But the point is that we need to seek to serve one another. And as we do this, we will see humility produced within us. As we serve the brethren, our minds will get off ourselves onto others. And I believe this is what Jesus meant in verse 5. Whoever receives, whoever serves, Whoever takes care of one of these, my brethren, he will learn humility. He will learn what true greatness is all about. As we serve others, we remember our Lord Jesus Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many. How do you serve your brethren in this place, dear Christian? How do you do that? How do you do it? Do you just come here every week expecting to be served? Or do you say, no, I want to serve. I want to help out downstairs. I want to take out the garbage. I want to come and clean when the building needs to be cleaned, which is every week. I want to go on the rotation. I want to serve, my brethren. I want to get involved. I want to serve. I want to help with the Sunday school class. I want to help in the nursery. I want to help the men in the nursing home. I want to serve. Get out of my cell. Think about others. There's work to be done. I want to serve because as I serve, there's less of me and more of others and Jesus and His truth. Fifthly, and finally, if we are to grow in the grace of humility, we must pray for more humility. We must pray. My dear brothers and sisters, begin Each day, especially when pride rears its ugly head with prayer, and when you sense that opportunity for you to put yourself forward, pray, O God, help me. O God, hold me back, for this is ugly in Your sight. This is diametrically opposed to how You would have me to live. It's diametrically opposed to how You live, Lord. Help me. Also pray, beginning each day, by acknowledging your utter dependence upon God and your need for Him. It's a great way to learn humility. Lord, I come this day. Lord, it's going to be a mess if You don't help. Lord, I'm weak. I'm frail. I can't be good for anyone. Lord, help me to be all that You would have me to be. That's a humble disposition. And again, God gives grace to the humble. Secondly, for us who are Christians here today, not only do we have from our passage that we must continue to make great advancements in humility, because pride lurks within all of us, but we must also regularly be in the practice of receiving God's people. And again, that's connected to the matter of being humble. But dear friends, get this now. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is intended to be a community of caring, loving, hospitable people. The church is to be a community. The society of God's redeemed people which is marked by care, love, in hospitality. Receive one another. The verb there carries the idea of being hospitable to one another. Receive such a one. Receive them. Don't just enter into casual friendship, but receive them. Welcome them into your life. Help them. Serve them. Treat them very specially. Receive them. What kind of needs do you have, brother? What kind of needs do you have, sister? Don't only receive them into your heart. Receive them into your home. Be willing not only to open your heart to them, but to open your wallets to them if need be so. For John says, if you see your brother with need, and you don't provide for Him, is that how God would have us to live? John says, let us not love in word only, but in deed and in truth. If we receive one another, we're really doing that as brethren. We're really trying to model this community of God's saints, this climate of care, love and hospitality. Thank God that this place is a kind of place like I've just described. Thank God that this is a place of caring, loving, hospitable people. Thank God our church is marked by such wonderful traits. It's such a wonderful thing to come here week in and week out. and to experience the welcoming of the brethren. To be received by each one with an open heart and real care and real concern. So in this sense, we don't just believe in Sunday church, we believe in total church. To quote a new book I'm reading. Total church. It's not just about Sunday. It's about every day during the week. How are you doing? How can I help you? What needs do you have? Let's get together. Let's pray. Let's seek the Lord together. Total church. That's what we should aim for. But let me challenge you, brethren. Although God is helping us greatly in this place in this regard, and we'll speak about this today, as we give the pastor report, let me challenge you to continue to abound more and more. Continue to abound more and more. People are coming here, visiting us for the first time. They're saying, I've never seen a place like this. I've never experienced so much love, so much care. They don't know me. They're welcoming me into their homes. Continue when visitors come in. Who are you? Nice to meet you. Talk to them. How did you like the service? Etc. What do you do? Are you a Christian? How long have you known the Lord Jesus? Something I can pray for you in your life. Do you have somewhere to go today for lunch? Get to know people. Get involved in their lives. And for the brethren, those who have been here for a long time, continue to excel in your love for one another. Not just the new people, but those who have been here for a long time. Have people in your homes. Pray for one another. Exemplify this glorious grace. We're out of time, but I want to end with a word to those among us who are not Christians. You're here today, you're not born again. And perhaps you're hearing this message and you're thinking, you're a pretty humble person. Maybe. In some senses, you are humble. But let me just tell you that in truth, according to the Bible, you can't even begin to be humble until you're first saved. And dear friend, listen, do you want to know why you're not saved today? You want to know why you're not saved today from the human perspective? Do you want to know why you haven't been born again? There's really only one answer and it is this, you think too highly of yourself. That's why you're not a Christian from the human perspective. You think too highly of yourself. I'm not really a bad person. I'm a pretty good person. I haven't murdered anyone. I haven't stolen anything of great value. I'm a pretty good person. From the human perspective, the reason why you're not converted is because you think too highly of yourself. The problem is you're full of pride. You haven't seen yourself as God truly sees you, as a hell-deserving, wretched sinner. That God even allows you to exist this day on his earth is an amazing thing. That God hasn't cut you off in your sins for your lying, for your theft, for your adultery, for your homosexuality, for your fornication, for your drunkenness, for your lying, is an amazing thing! An amazing, astounding thing! It's utterly amazing that a holy God would put up with you for so long. But my friend Paul says, do not despise the long-suffering of God. For the goodness of God is to lead you to repentance. God hasn't cut you off because He'd rather save you than damn you. So today is the day to repent of your pride. And to flee to Christ and say, O Savior, wash me from my sin. I haven't believed Your record about me. Because I'm a prideful man. I'm a prideful woman. I'm a prideful young person. I think I'm pretty good. But you're not good. There's none that's good. No, not one. Oh, my friend. You want to pray a sinner's prayer? Pray a prayer like this. Lord, help me to see how wicked I am. Help me to see how holy You are that You can't even look on iniquity. and cause me to be miserable in your sight until I flee to Jesus to be saved. That's a sinner's prayer. And my friend, you are a vile sinner in the sight of God. Just like all of us were before we were saved, vile in the sight of God. And I remember when that revelation first grabbed me, because for 22 years I thought that that God and I were just like this. Buddy-buddy. God likes me just how I am. And then I opened my Bible and I saw that God and I were not like this, but we were like this. And the great gap between us was my sin. All of my sin, my lying, my cheating, my self-centeredness, my breaking His commandments. The very first one, you shall have no other gods before me. I'm going to hell. I'm already going to hell. I broke the first one. God has to be first. He wasn't first. He was last. I'm going to hell, God. What must I do to be saved? Number one, I'm damned for eternity. I need to be saved. How can I be saved? And God said, look to the cross. Look to Jesus. I hung Him there for sinners like you. I laid your sins upon Him. I punished Him in your stead so that you could be forgiven. Look to the cross and see my love in that I'd rather save you than damn you. So I sent my Son. And then God said, turn from your sins and believe on Him alone. And I was saved. Oh, my friends, some of you will enter hell with my words ringing in your ears for eternity. I pray that you would repent. I pray that you would turn to Christ and be saved. I pray that you would see yourself in truth this day and experience the awesome love of God, the great mercy of this Lord of heaven and earth who receives sinners to himself. Come this day to Him who would forgive you of all your sins, wash your record clean, give you the Spirit of God, help you to have a true relationship with Him here now and in the life to come. Come to this God who is a God of grace and a God of mercy. Call upon the name Jesus Christ, for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Let's pray. Father, we confess that pride is an ugly sin. It's in all of us. And for us who are true Christians, we don't like it. Help us to fight against it. individually in our own hearts, and corporately among ourselves. Lord, we don't want to be responsible for destroying your work. We don't want to bring shame to your name. We want you to be honored in this place. So grant us great humility. Might we truly hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and learn from the example of the little child We ask these things, Lord Jesus, in your own holy and blessed name. Amen.