Humility: Living Beyond Yourself

Transcript

Week 4 of the series Core: Built Different. Transcribed from the service recording and lightly edited for readability.

Welcome: Core, Built Different, Week 4

Okay, here we are: the final week of the series Core: Built Different. Let's read the declaration statement, and then we'll jump right into it.

Declaration Statement

Read it with me:

I am a Christ chaser. I am here to be transformed. I am here to hear the voice of God. God, clear my mind and open my heart to receive Your word. Jesus, do not let me leave the same way I came. I am ready to be changed. Amen.

Identity, Intimacy, Integrity… Humility

In week one we looked at identity: knowing who you are. In week two we looked at intimacy: getting closer to God. Last week we talked about integrity: letting our walk match our talk. And here we are, wrapping it all up with humility: living beyond yourself.

Why Does God Want Our Core Stronger?

Because the question we have to ask ourselves is, why does God want our core to be stronger? Why does He want us to know who we are? Why does He want us closer to Him? Why does He want our walk to match our talk? Is it simply so we can be better people? Or is it so we can truly fulfill our purpose?

This message on humility is a personal one for me. I know God had to do some things in me to get me here, and we'll talk about that a little later. But what is the purpose of all of this?

Philippians 2:3–5

There's a scripture in Philippians that brings this home. Philippians chapter 2, verses 3 through 5:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

The funny thing about the book of Philippians is that Paul is writing it from jail. Yet in the middle of writing this letter, he emphasizes joy, unity, humility, and Christ-centered living. Paul is addressing relationships in the church, and he's getting to the heart of the issue: we need to be humble.

What Humility Really Means

I think sometimes we get this word, humility, messed up. A lot of times we make it feel like "I'm not worthy." But it's more than that, because in week one we found out who we are. Humility is knowing who I am, and then asking, "How do I live now?"

Humility isn't thinking you have less value. It's knowing your value without making yourself the center. Humility changes who's at the center.

Selfish Ambition and Vain Conceit

Philippians 2:3 hits really hard: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit." The two biggest enemies here are selfish ambition and vain conceit, because both of them revolve around one person: me.

I have to tell the truth and shame the devil: for a lot of my life, that was me. I was self-centered. I'm an only child, and on top of that, I'm a Douglas, and there's a certain pride that comes with that. So I was selfish. I wasn't used to sharing. I didn't have to share with anybody. And I was vain. I knew what I was good at, and I stuck to it.

My mama tells a story that's quite funny. I was always getting in trouble for talking. She said, "Derrick, if you're talking, when is the teacher going to talk?" I said, "When I'm finished." Selfish ambition and vain conceit. That was it.

Humility Confronts Self-Centered Living

Humility confronts self-centered living. So often we ask, "How does this affect me? What am I going to get out of it? What's in it for me? Did they recognize me? Did they thank me?"

It's funny: a lot of fundraising works that way. "Give us some money and I'll put your name on the plaque outside. I'll put your name on a brick." Are we giving because we truly believe in that organization, or because we want to make sure we get recognition for the money we gave?

When you're serving people, are you serving to meet their needs, or are you serving for recognition? Jesus says in Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." If anybody deserved to walk into the room and say, "Serve me," it would be Jesus. Instead He said, "I came to serve."

Humility Doesn't Dim Your Light

We have to understand that humility does not dim your light. Why? Because we know who we are. We're children of God. You've been given certain gifts and abilities, and Jesus said, "Let your light shine."

We think humble people have to present themselves as not gifted, like they're not really that good, like they have nothing to offer. But that's not it. If God has given you a gift, it would dishonor Him not to use it. We have to begin to see our giftedness in the correct light.

Humility says, "Yes, God has gifted me, but the gift came from God and should be used for God's purpose." You can know you're gifted without acting like you're greater. You can be confident without being conceited.

How Can I Help?

Now humility begins to ask a different question. Self-centeredness asks, "What can they do for me?" Humility asks, "How can I help?" Self-centeredness asks, "Will this benefit me?" Humility asks, "Will this bless somebody?"

It's all about reframing, and we have to reframe it, because we know the ultimate reason for all of this is for God to get the glory. In self-centered living, we want the glory. And I've lived long enough to know God isn't going to fight you for His glory.

So the question we have to start asking ourselves is, "Who can I encourage today?" When we come to church, a lot of times we want to know if they're going to sing the song we like, if it's going to go the way we like. But have we ever asked ourselves, when we show up to the house of worship, "Who needs me?" Instead of waiting for somebody to greet you and say, "Welcome, how are you doing?", ask, "Who needs me to greet them? Who needs me to ask how they're doing today? Where can I serve?"

From Consumers to Contributors

When we begin to ask those questions, we change from a crowd of consumers to a community of contributors. Humility doesn't make you think you're insignificant. It reminds you that you're not the center. We're all significant. We all have value. We all play a part. But it doesn't revolve around us.

Humility Looks Like Service: John 13

So what does humility look like? Humility looks like service. There's a story in John chapter 13:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Going down to verse 12:

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

Jesus knew exactly who He was. Verse 3 says He knew the Father had given all things into His hands. And knowing that, the very next thing He did was the lowest job in the house.

At that time, the lowest job in the house was washing feet. The streets were dusty, and people walked from place to place. When you went to somebody's house, the first thing they'd do was have one of the servants wash your feet. Obviously nobody had washed feet yet. Jesus saw there was still a need in the house, and He washed feet. And not only that, He said, "Now that you've seen what I've done, do the same." Service isn't beneath you when you know who you are.

Nothing Should Be Beneath Us

If I own a company and I see the trash needs to be taken out, it's my company. It's not beneath me, because I don't want my customers coming in to see the trash overflowing. I'm going to take care of it. I'm going to do what needs to be done to make the business run.

As believers, we're in the people business. So when we see something that needs to get done, who's going to do it? We've got to do it. Nothing should be beneath us. If it's working in the parking lot, picking up trash, opening the door, helping someone: it shouldn't be beneath us. But so often we want to know where our title is. "Don't they pay somebody around here to do that?"

I've gotten into a habit. I was in a training once, and one of the trainers said that personally, you should want to leave things better than the way you found them. So when I go into the restroom and see paper towels on the ground, I pick them up. The other day at work I was doing it, and somebody looked at me and said, "You don't have to do that." Pretty much saying, "We pay people around here to do that." But that wasn't beneath me. It's just paper. I can pick it up. It isn't hurting me. The counter's wet? I can dry it off.

We're getting into the posture of knowing we can do that. It isn't hard. It isn't like I'm going out of my way. A lot of times when we come to serve, we think, "That's somebody else's job. I'm going to leave that alone." But if you can do it, do it. You're helping them out. Maybe they're taking care of a bigger mess, and you can clean up the smaller one. Or we want the attention. Or we want the reserved seat. You know how it is: "That's my spot. Nobody parks here."

Jesus Picked Up a Towel

But He picked up a towel. We have to remember what Jesus did. Jesus picked up a towel and began to wash feet. Why? Because He was secure in His identity. When you're secure in your identity, you don't need a title to feel important.

Okay, I'm not going to step on toes yet. I'll step on toes later. Let's keep going.

Your Gift Was Given to Benefit Others

Your gift was given to benefit somebody else. First Peter 4:10 says, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others."

The cool part is that this tells us God has given each and every one of us a gift. And when you're given something, the gift has a purpose. If somebody gives me a car, I'm supposed to do what? Drive it. If you've been given a gift, you have to use it. And the purpose of this gift is to serve others.

Here's the reality: if you have it, somebody else needs it. God gave it to you for somebody, not just for you. So we have to make sure we're using our gifts for everything God has given them to us for.

Real Service Doesn't Require a Spotlight

All right, here we go: real service doesn't require a spotlight. Picture Jesus out here today. He's healing people, and He's washing feet. Nobody's posting the foot-washing on social media. Walking on water? They're posting that. Healing people? They're posting that. But nobody's posting Jesus washing feet. Why? It seems so insignificant.

But serving doesn't need a spotlight. Jesus even warns that if recognition is what you want, you've already received your reward here, so don't go looking for one in heaven.

And everything has value. Whether you open the door, serve in the kitchen, or clean the parking lot, whatever you do has a place and has value. And getting glory from God, when God just loves on you for doing what you're supposed to do, is better than anything man can ever give. It's better than any plaque on the wall. Better than any gift certificate. Better than all of it.

We shouldn't be concerned about our name being written on some certificate. We have to be secure knowing our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Humility Turns Purpose Into Impact

Humility turns purpose into impact: "not looking to your own interests, but to the interests of others." Here's what I'm starting to realize: God doesn't give us purpose so we can be successful. God gives us purpose to impact the kingdom.

Vision and Mission

This is where we look at two important words in any organization: vision and mission. Vision is what God is calling you to see. Mission is what God is calling you to do.

Whenever we show the announcement slides, when you get to the Christ Chaser slide, there's a vision statement. Let me read you what it says, because you might not have read it:

Our vision is to build a Christ-chaser community: a vibrant body of believers who passionately pursue a deeper relationship with God, embody His love, and transform lives through selfless service; to strive to make God's presence known, seeking Him in every facet of life and extending His grace and truth to our community. Together, we're committed to growing in faith, living out God's word, and making a lasting impact for His kingdom.

And the mission of His Way is right behind us: to act as He acted, teach as He taught, and serve as He served, elevating Christ to His rightful position.

Your purpose is bigger than personal success. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." God didn't save us merely to go to heaven. If He had, as soon as we accepted Him, we'd be gone. He left us here for a reason.

Success vs. Significance

Here's what I find so interesting. If success were all it's cracked up to be, there wouldn't be millionaires and billionaires who commit suicide. They achieve everything they think they should have in life, and then they realize it isn't all it was cracked up to be. Why? Because even though we search for success, what we really want is significance.

But to be significant, you have to use your success to influence others, which means serving people from your place of success. God has gifted you with an ability. As you serve people from that place, from your giftedness, you'll find significance, because you'll begin transforming people's lives through your gifts. Some of you are very encouraging. But if you don't say it to anybody, nobody gets encouraged.

Your Blessing Should Become Someone Else's Benefit

Here's another thing: your blessing should become somebody else's benefit. "What do you mean? That doesn't make sense." But that's what God told Abraham: "I will bless you, and you will be a blessing."

There's a flow in God's kingdom: God, you, then others. It's supposed to go through you, but we interrupt the flow. God gives it to you: "I'm going to hold on to that. Put it in my pocket." God gives you some more: "Oh yeah, that's going in my pocket too." God says, "No, I'm giving it to you so you can give to others, so you can be a blessing. I'll keep it flowing." And sometimes we wonder why we aren't getting any more. God says, "Because you haven't let go of what I already gave you."

There's a story in scripture about a man with a huge harvest. "Man, my barns are full. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to build bigger barns and store all my stuff." And God said, "This very night your life will be taken from you."

If God gives you wisdom, what do you do with it? Let it flow. If God gives you resources, experience, encouragement: let it flow. When God forgives us, we have to let it flow. So many people are still holding grudges from a long time ago. Some people still haven't forgiven somebody who's dead and gone. But we have to let it flow. We have to let it go. God is giving you love. Are you letting that love flow through you to others?

Impact Happens When You Invest in People

Impact happens when you invest in people. Jesus wasn't simply about building a crowd. He was about investing deeply in people. He had twelve men who walked with Him, and He invested in them. There were more than twelve who followed Him, but we always talk about the Twelve. As He walked and talked with them, He was pouring into their lives. He taught them what He knew. He showed them a different way to live. He connected with them and tried to get them to a better place.

And the cool thing is, when He left, He said they would do greater things, which means, "Now that I've taught you, you can do even greater things than I have done." He told them in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." What Jesus was saying is, "I poured myself into you. Now I need you to pour yourselves into others."

Imagine a church where every mature believer decided, "I'm going to help somebody else become stronger." Every married couple helped another couple. Every mature man mentored a younger man. Every woman poured into a younger woman. Every businessperson helped other people develop in their profession. Every parent encouraged other parents. Every believer helped somebody grow spiritually. Then we'd no longer measure church by how many people come, but by how many people are being changed.

Success asks, "What have I accomplished?" Kingdom impact asks, "Who became better because I was here?"

Bringing It All Together

Let's bring it all together.

Identity: Who am I? Because I'm secure in who God says I am, I don't have to compete with you. Once I'm secure in who God says I am, I'm not competing with anybody.

Intimacy: I'm staying close to God. Because I'm connected to the Source, I don't have to wear myself out trying to drain you for what you've got.

Integrity: I'm living what I believe. Because my private life matches my public profession, my testimony now has credibility.

Humility: Now I live beyond myself. Because I know who I am, I know who I'm connected to, and I'm committed to living authentically, God can trust me to serve somebody else.

A Strong Spiritual Core

Now that's a strong spiritual core. But having a strong core isn't just about having a strong core. When I get my physical core strong, it enables me to do other things. It gives me balance. I can work on getting other parts of myself stronger. I can trust my body to do what it was designed to do.

Now that we're building our spiritual core, we can move mountains. Why? Because we know the foundation of who we are, and God can trust us to do everything He created us to do.

I'm not scared to let people know I'm a Christian, because I know that's who I am. That's my foundation. When people start asking me for things, I can be like the disciples: "Silver and gold I don't have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus, get up." Give them what you have. And if I do have some silver and some gold and I can help you, I'm going to help you. "But they did me wrong. I can't help them." But guess what? You've received forgiveness, so now you can give that.

Are You Willing to Pick Up the Towel?

Everybody wants a title. The question is, are you willing to pick up the towel? Are you willing to serve when you see somebody in need?

Everybody wants God to make them greater: "God, bless me." But God is saying, "I want to make you a blessing to others." "God, give me more." God is saying, "Can I trust you with more? When I give it to you, what are you going to do with it?" "God, You've got to use somebody." And God says, "Yes. I want to use you. I want to use you to change this world, to make a difference and impact the people around you. I want to use you to let people know that God is alive and real and actively working in people's lives."

"But God, do You know what I've done?" He says, "Go back to week one. Who are you?" I am a child of God. "No matter what you've done, I've forgiven it. I've wiped the slate clean. And since I've wiped the slate clean, now what are you willing to do for Me?"

Remember What God Brought You From

This sermon hits home for me, because as a believer I can sometimes forget how dirty I was. There's a story Jesus told about two people whose debts were forgiven, one a huge debt and the other a small one, and He asked which one would love more. The answer: the one who was forgiven the most.

So often we're the good kids. We've been in church all our lives, doing all the right things. We forget we've still got some dirty stuff in us. And this sermon reminded me: "Boy, remember how conceited you used to be? Remember how vain you used to be? Do you remember what I brought you from? Now, since I've done all that, what are you willing to do for Me?"

Yes, you know you're a child of God. But how close are you to Him? And as you get closer and closer to Him, what are you willing to do for Him? Let your walk match your talk. And when your walk begins to match your talk, you'll find yourself doing things you never imagined you'd do.

God wants to use all of you. He says, "Just surrender to Me, and I will use all of you." And trust me, He's got a reward waiting for you. He's got your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. He's got a place prepared for you, because Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you." All we have to do is surrender to God and allow Him to use us as He sees fit.

It doesn't matter what name is on the door. It doesn't matter what the job title is. Whether you're pushing a broom or signing the checks, it doesn't matter. God has something for you to do, and He wants you to give Him all of you and allow yourself to be used for His purpose.

Prayer

Let us pray. Most gracious and heavenly Father, we come before You saying thank You. Thank You for all You're doing and all You're going to do. Father God, I know You're challenging us to go to a deeper place with You, so that we can truly understand why You put us here and how You want to use us.

I pray that You give everybody in this room clarity: clarity of purpose. Show them that they are Yours. Show them the reason You created them and the reason You have them walking the earth. Give them the strength and courage to carry out the mission You've given them, not for their own honor, glory and praise, but knowing they did the work You called them to do, and that this world will never be the same when they do. Father God, we know You get all the honor and all the glory, as You should. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior, we ask it all. Amen.

Weekly Challenge

All right, the wrap for this week.

Reflect: Where has my faith become too focused on me: my blessing, my comfort, my recognition, my need, or my success? Who has God already placed around me who could benefit from what He has built in me?

Act: Pick up the towel. Find one intentional way to serve someone this week without expectation, recognition, or repayment. Encourage someone, mentor somebody, give something, meet a need, volunteer, make a call, share what you've learned, or simply show up for someone. Do something that makes another person's life better.

Pray:

God, thank You for everything You have built in me. Don't allow Your blessings to stop with me. Give me the mind of Christ and teach me to value others. Help me serve without needing recognition, and use what You've given me for Your kingdom. Show me who needs what You've placed inside of me. Give me a bigger vision, a higher purpose, and a stronger impact. I don't just want You to bless me. I want You to use me. In Jesus' name, amen.