HUMILITY

Humility is the ability to see ourselves as God describes us.

During the 1970’s, Muhammad Ali reigned as the heavyweight boxing champion for most of the decade. And, no one was more aware of his greatness than Ali himself. He would call himself King, Superman, God, and on countless occasions would remind everyone: “I am the greatest.”
After boarding an airplane one day, however, Ali met his match. The flight attendant was walking up the aisle making sure everyone had their seat belts fastened, when she noticed Ali had not fastened his. When she asked him to do so, he just grunted: “Hmph! Superman don’t need no seat belt!” Unimpressed, the flight attendant just smiled and said, “Sir, Superman don’t need no airplane.” Ali buckled his seat belt.

1 Peter 5:6-7 teaches a profound, yet often overlooked truth. We are instructed to “humble ourselves,” but we frequently miss God’s counsel on how that is done biblically: by casting all our cares on Him. Human pride cannot receive help, nor will it ask for it. Consequently, God “opposes the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6). So, when we cast all of our cares on Him, we are in absolute humility, since we are trusting God to intervene, direct, and empower all that we are concerned about. The Tower of Babel, in Genesis 11 is a classic example. The people’s goal was to build a tower that would reach heaven. Actually, that sounds rather noble to me! However, they were operating in pride and self-sufficiency. No call to God for help. Consequently, God confused their efforts and began beseech in the people to return to Him in recognition of their need.

Here is the Contrast between Pride & Humility:

Pride demands equal rights — Humility sees life as a gift.
Pride relies on personal effort — Humility relies on God’s power.
Pride is what religion is built from — Humility is required for the Christian; God gets the glory.
Pride focuses on measuring up — Humility focuses on undeserved mercy.

How Do We Enter into Humility?

Acknowledge our own weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Cast our cares on God (1 Peter 5:7).

My Time With God

1.) Preparation Time

“For thus says the High and Exalted One…I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit, in order to receive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

God says He dwells in two places: the holy place and the lowly place. List areas in which you struggle with human pride and self- centeredness in your…
Personal Life:
Family Life:
Church Life:
Business life:
Other:

2.) Waiting Time

During your waiting time, Let God…

Love You.
“God, I feel your love and grace today, especially in the area of…”

Search You.
“God, You have permission to reveal selfishness & arrogance in my life.”

Show You.
“God, is there any ‘care’ that I need to cast on You as I enter this day?”

3.) Confession Time
“Why does God want to humble a person? Nobody can work for God until humility has taken hold of his life. Otherwise he magnifies himself out of all proportion to God.” (Paul Rader)

“I believe that the first test of a truly great person is their humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power. But really great people have a curious feeling that greatness is not in them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other person and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.” (John Ruskin)

Confess areas that you have not cast on Him, and where you have unknowingly resisted His grace and help:

4.) Bible Time
We can never pray out of God’s will when we pray God’s Word.

…Read Psalm 51:16-17 slowly a couple of times.
…Close your eyes & allow a main truth to surface in your heart.
…Pray the Scripture and allow God to minister to you.

5.) Meditation Time
After praying the Scriptures, write down the thoughts that God has impressed upon your mind:

6.) Intercession Time – Praying for Others
Begin this time with a prayer of blessing & thanksgiving for the people of whom you will now intercede. Look up Philippians 2:3 and pray in line with what that verse says. Pray for success, for God’s richest blessings to fall on these people; start now to set aside feelings of comparison and competition. Pray for God to finish His work in them, whatever that may mean.

Name Request

7.) Petition Time – Praying for Yourself

How to Petition God Properly:
-Talk to Him about your obstacles to personal surrender and brokenness.
-Be honest with God. Tell Him about your cares & acknowledge your need for Him in these areas.
-Pray “Thy will be done,” whatever that means in your life.

8.) Application Time
The smallest obedient act is better than the greatest intention.

Q: What is the main thing God has impressed upon me today?

Q: What am I going to do about it?

Steps to Take In My Obedience to God This Week:

My Goal: To implement these steps in the next 7 days.

9.) Faith Time
Faith is our positive response to what God has said. Spend a few moments praying through the eyes of faith. Tell God the positive things you see happening because of His grace and power.

10.) Praise & Thanksgiving Time

Praise God by Recognizing WHO HE IS!
Thank God by Recognizing WHAT HE HAS DONE!

This Week’s Memory Verse: (1 Peter 5:5-7)

This Week’s Time Alone With God:

Monday – This Lesson.

Tuesday – In our Memory Verse, we are instructed there, to humble ourselves under God’s almighty hand, then we’re told how to humble ourselves: by casting every one of our cares on Him.

Q: In what areas of your life do you see yourself walking in humility?

Q: In what areas do you fail to walk in humility, based upon the fact that you sought control in those areas rather than cast them upon the Lord?

Q: What keeps you from handling these areas in the second question the way you handled the areas in the first question?

Stop and pray. Commit those areas listed in the second question to the Lord, and ask for His grace to enable you to walk in humility.

Wednesday – Read again Isaiah 57:15
Note, once again, that God defines where He will dwell: the high & holy place, and the very lowly place. 2 extremes, but 2 places that shed much light on God and our relationship to Him.

Q: Why does God choose only to dwell among and give His grace to the humble?

Q: What are the similarities between the “holy” place and the “lowly” place? Why would God limit Himself to these two places, based upon those similarities?

In your own words, pray that God would build you into a proper dwelling place for God; a place that is both holy & lowly.

Thursday – Read again Psalm 51:16-17.
It’s always interesting to note how easy it is for God’s people to become so consumed with the external “sacrifices” that look so religious, that we miss the heart posture that God is essentially interested in.

Why do we confuse the external duties with the real issues God wants us to wrestle with inside our hearts?

Jot down the obstacles to personal surrender and brokenness in your life.
Pray for yourself now, regarding the two responses you’ve just written down.

Friday – More than once, the Scripture reminds us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:6; James 4:6). In Genesis 32:24-32, we see that God wrestles with Jacob to bring him to a point of honesty and humility. Only then does he receive the blessing.

Q: Why can God not afford to trust His grace to those who are proud?

God could bless Jacob, because he finally was:
Honest with God.
Alone with God.
Hungry for God.
Broken by God.

Today, pray that these same criteria and results would emerge in your life, and in those that you love and care for around you.

SERVANTHOOD

A servant is someone who observes a need and assumes personal responsibility to meet that need, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Bruce Fleisher is a secure man of God who serves the people around him. He serves his wife by taking initiative to listen to her, cleaning their house for ministry meetings, making sure her car is running well, and taking responsibility to make sure they have enough vacation time together. When he is at church, he looks for specific people to encourage, he is aware of people that are standing or sitting alone, and he is always helping with room arrangements or materials needed.
People love to be around Bruce because he is always encouraging, sensitive, warm, and dependable (faithful to the task even when it costs more than he anticipated)!

Take a look at and read about Jesus’ servanthood in John 13:1-17

Biblical Principles From the Above Passage:
…Security in God is the basis for servanthood.
…We love people when we serve them.
…We lead by serving and serve by leading.

My Time With God

1.) Preparation Time
Read Luke 17:7-10.

Who are the people God is calling you to serve?

…In your Personal Life –
…In your Family Life –
…In your Church Life –
…In your Business Life –
…Other –

2.) Waiting Time
During your waiting time, let God…

Love You
“God, I feel your love today, especially in the area of…”

Search You
“God, are there any areas or people I am serving with the wrong motive?” It may be the wrong motive if we are offended if there is no gratitude or acknowledgment.)

Show You
“God, is there anything I need to know as we enter into this day?”

3.) Confession Time
Read Colossians 3:23-24.

Confess to God any areas where you are not serving wholeheartedly as unto the Lord…

4.) Bible Time
We can never pray out of God’s will when we pray God’s Word.

…Read Mark 10:42-45 slowly a couple of times.
…Close your eyes and allow a main truth to surface in your heart.
…Pray the Scripture and allow God to minister to you.

5.) Meditation Time
After praying the Scriptures, write down the thoughts that God has impressed upon your mind…

6.) Intercession Time – Praying for Others
Begin this time with a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving for the people of whom you will now intercede…
Name Request

7.) Petition Time – Praying for Yourself

How to Petition God Properly
…Talk to Him about the “little things.”
…Be honest with God.
…Pray “Thy will be done.”

Prayer Requests

8.) Application Time
The smallest obedient act is better than the greatest intention.

Q: What is the main thing that God has impressed on me today?

Q: What am I going to do about it?

Steps to Take in My Obedience to God this Week

My Goal: To implement the above steps in the next 7 days.

9.) Faith Time
Faith is our positive response to what God has said. Spend a few moments praying through your eyes of faith. Tell God the positive things you see happening because of His goodness!

10.) Praise & Thanksgiving Time

Praise God by recognizing WHO HE IS!
Thank God by recognizing WHAT HE HAS DONE!

This Week’s Memory Verse: Colossians 3:23

This Week’s Time Alone With God

Monday – This Lesson

Tuesday – Memorize Colossians 3:23

Wednesday – Serve someone in an unexpected way today.

Thursday – Read and meditate on 1 Peter 5.

Friday – Review your memory verses.

GENTLENESS

“If the meek will inherit the earth, what will happen to the tigers?”

I recently saw a cartoon with an imposing-looking tycoon leaving the church and saying to his wife, “All I’ve got to say is that if the meek are going to inherit the earth, they’d better become a lot more aggressive.”

Robert Ringer wrote a book called “Looking Out For #1,” which became a best-seller. This was a surprise to me, because most people I have met could probably have written it and hardly needed to read it! Along the same wavelength, he produced “Winning Through Intimidation,” a book widely acclaimed and even more widely practiced. Meanwhile, back in the church, preachers were still plodding on with “the meek shall inherit the earth” while many of their sheep either listened politely or said, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

MEEKNESS IS NOT WEAKNESS!

Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones said, “The man who is meek is not even sensitive about himself. He is not always watching himself and his own interests. He is not always on the defensive…all that is gone. The man who is truly meek never pities himself; he is never sorry for himself. He never talks to himself and says, ‘You are having a hard time, how unkind these people are, not to understand you.’ He never thinks, ‘How wonderful I really am; if only other people gave me a chance.”
Self-pity! What hours and years we waste in this! But the man who has become meek has finished with all that. To be meek, in other words, means that you have finished with yourself altogether, and you come to see you have no rights at all…The person who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and people can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do. That, it seems to me, is its essential quality.
Gentleness is power under God’s control!

My Time With God
1.) Preparation Time
In this time with God, read the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29 and prepare yourself to learn gentleness from Him.

2.) Waiting Time
During your waiting time, let God…

Love You
“God, I feel Your love today, especially in the area of…”

Search You
“God, You have permission to reveal any un-teachable spirit in my life.”

Show You
“God, is there anything that I need to know as I enter this day?”

3.) Confession Time
Jesus’ 3 closest friends had some major character flaws and He didn’t give up on them. Peter, James, and John were His 3 best friends; His inner circle. As Jesus and the disciples were walking to Jerusalem, they had to stop at a Samaritan Hilton for the evening. Jesus sent a couple of them ahead. Once people realized who was coming to town, because Jesus was a hot item at this point, they told them they couldn’t come. When they came back, James & John were the first to receive the news. James & John told Jesus and asked, “What should we do? Call down fire from heaven?” Apparently, these were not gentle guys.
Then James & John’s mom came to Jesus one day and said, “Jesus, I want you to guarantee that James & John will sit at Your right and left hand.” They had major character flaws.
Peter is my favorite, because I relate to him the most: talking out of turn; always rushing into things; impulsive; sticking his foot in his mouth. It was Peter who cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear when they came to take Jesus away; it was Peter who pushed past John in the tomb; it was Peter who denied Jesus 3 times. It’s no wonder, in Luke 9:41 Jesus in essence said, “How much longer do I have to put up with you guys?”
Jesus saw the power of their potential, and He knew that as they would give Him control over their personalities, as they would be honest about their defects which God could change, they could become powerful for the kingdom of God. And that’s exactly what happened — these 3 men became pillars of Christianity & the early church. Jesus didn’t give up. They were a little raw at first, but He hung in there.

Confess to God the “raw areas of your life” that are NOT under His control:

4.) Bible Time
We can never pray out of God’s will when we pray God’s Word.

…Read the following passages slowly a couple of times:
Proverbs 15:4 Philippians 2:4-5 2 Peter 1:7
James 4:1-2 James 3:16
…Close your eyes and allow a main truth to surface in your heart.
…Pray the Scripture and allow God to minister to you.

5.)Meditation Time
After praying the Scriptures, write down the thoughts that God has impressed upon your mind:

6.) Intercession Time – Praying for Others
Begin this time with a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving for the people for whom you will now intercede:
Name Request

7.) Petition Time
How to Petition God Properly
…Talk to Him about the “little things”
…Be honest with God
…Pray “Thy will be done”
Prayer Requests

8.) Application Time
The smallest obedient act is better than the greatest intention.

Q: What is the main thing God has impressed upon me today?

Q: What am I going to do about it?

Steps to take in my obedience to God:

9.) Faith Time
Faith is our positive response to what God has said. Spend a few moments praying through your eyes of faith. Tell God the positive things you see happening because of His goodness!

10.) Praise & Thanksgiving Time

Praise God by recognizing WHO HE IS!
Thank God by recognizing WHAT HA HAS DONE!

When someone disappoints you, are you gentle or judgmental? Your response will determine the health of that relationship. Elijah was a great prophet of God. He had some successes and he had some failures.
1 Kings 19 tells us Elijah had just had the most glorious day of his career. He had just defeated 450 prophets of Baal and things were looking good. Except for one thing: there was this woman, Jezebel, chasing him. For some reason, he just lost it and started running from her. As he was running through the wilderness, God came to him and asked him what he was doing there. Elijah said, “I’ve been very zealous for the Lord, I’ve been doing all this work and I just can’t take it anymore.” God told him to go to a cave and wait for Him.
If you knew you had just disappointed God and He told you to go to a cave and wait for Him, what would you be thinking? I think he was a little stressed. He may have been thinking God would say, “Elijah, you’ve had all these victories, and a woman starts chasing you and you run for cover. What’s wrong with you? After all I’ve done for you, and you still don’t trust Me?” Or “This is it! You’re so weak and timid, I’m not going to be able to use you anymore.” As Elijah was rehearsing these things in his head, the Word of the Lord came to him.
God told him to go out and stand before Him on the mountain. As he stood there, the Lord passed by and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire was the sound of a gentle whisper. That’s where God was. Elijah was expecting a flying fist from heaven — he was ducking, expecting a knock-out punch from God, and God came gently, not with judgments or condemnation.
The same is true for us. When we blow it, God is not waiting for you with clenched fists. He’s waiting for you with open arms — just like the prodigal son who came home after squandering half of his father’s wealth, with his head hung in shame, fully expecting to get blasted by his dad. His dad didn’t say, “See, I told you so. I knew you would blow it all.” No. He greeted him with open arms and said, “My boy’s home.” God wants us to run to Him, not against Him.
When someone disappoints you, are you a raging wind that comes in and starts blowing everyone around? Or an earthquake who starts shaking people up? Or a fire who rages? Or do you respond in a gentle whisper? There’s power in gentleness. It gets people’s attention. I think Elijah was shocked at God’s response. Gentle people have their expectations under God’s control.

This Week’s Memory Verse: Ephesians 4:2

This Week’s Time Alone With God
Monday – This lesson

Tuesday – Is my personality under God’s control? Remember the illustration of Jesus’ disciples? Write down an area or two of your temperament that is not under control.

Wednesday – Are my words under God’s control? Carefully watch what you say today. Remember, each word is a gift.

Thursday – Is my perspective under God’s control? If it is, you will start seeing and working for the benefit of others, not just yourself.

Friday – Are my responses under God’s control? Gentle people are proactive, not reactive.

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his own spirit, than he who captures a city.”
(Proverbs 16:32)

A Proactive person is self-controlled.
A Reactive person is other-controlled.

Today, respond to people & situations with a gentleness of spirit.

FAILURE

Failure is not falling down — failure is staying down.

Mary Lou Retton, America’s Golden Girl gymnast at the Summer Olympics in 1984, said that, to succeed, one has to set her goal and be willing to pay the price to achieve it. “Achieving that goal is a good feeling, but to get there you have to also get through the failures. You’ve got to be able to pick yourself up and continue.”

Everyone falls, but not everyone fails. It depends on whether you fail backward or you fail forward.
We fail backward when:
Failure keeps us from trying again…
We become negative about life…
We make excuses and blame others…

We fail forward when:
We learn from our failure…
We discover our own true self…
We turn everything over to God…

“On Christ the Solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”

Look up & read the following Scripture passages:
Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 23:14; Lamentations 3:22-23;
Matthew 6:20; 1 Peter 1:9; John 10:28; 1 Corinthians 13:8, 13

My Time With God

1.) Preparation Time
List the failure issues you are “wrestling with” in your…
Personal Life:
Family Life:
Church Life:
Married Life:
Other:

2.) Waiting Time
Remember the incredible love the father showed his prodigal son when he returned home after a time of failure?

During your waiting time, let God…
Love You
“God, I feel your love today, especially in the area of…”

Search You
“God, You have permission to reveal any wrong motive in my life.”

Show You
“God, is there anything I need to know as I enter this day?”

3.) Confession Time
“The thief (Satan, the author of failure) comes only in order that he may steal and may kill and may destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance — to the full, till it overflows.” (John 10:10 Amplified)

The devil’s mission is to hurt. Jesus’ mission is to heal. Confess areas in your life that have failed because your focus was on the evil one. Confess your desire today to change your focus to the One who promises a full life.

4.) Bible Time
We can never pray out of God’s will when we pray God’s Word.

…Read Luke 15:12-32 slowly a couple of times.
…Close your eyes & allow a main truth to surface in your heart.
…Pray the Scripture & allow God to minister to you.

5.) Meditation Time
After praying the Scriptures, write down the thoughts that God has impressed upon your mind…

6.) Intercession Time – Praying for Others
Begin this time with a prayer of blessing and thanksgiving for the people for whom you will now intercede. Pray especially for people who have failed or feel like a failure…

7.) Petition Time – Praying for Yourself
How To Petition God Properly

Talk to Him about the “little things”
Be honest with God
Pray “Thy will be done”

Prayer Requests

8.) Application Time
The smallest obedient act is better than the greatest intention.

Q: What is the main thing God has impressed on me today?

Q: What am I going to do about it?

Steps to take in my obedience to God:

9.) Faith Time
Faith is our positive response to what God has said. Spend a few moments praying through your eyes of faith. Tell God the positive things you see happening because of His goodness!

10.) Praise & Thanksgiving Time

Praise God by recognizing WHO HE IS!
Thank God by recognizing WHAT HE HAS DONE!

This Week’s Memory Verse: John 10:10

This Week’s Time Alone With God

Monday – This Lesson

Tuesday – The beginning of this lesson focused on things that will not fail. Read them. Can you think of others?

Wednesday – Read again the story of the prodigal son. Put yourself in the place of the 3 characters. Which one of the 3 was a failure in the end? Could it be that an attitude of failure is worse than a failure in action?

Thursday – Failure Formula: People fail in direct proportion to their willingness to make excuses for their failures. In what areas are you making excuses?

Friday – Satan’s strategy: “Get Christians preoccupied with their failures. From there the battle is won.” (C.S. Lewis in “The Screwtape Letters”)

Read Philippians 3:13