HUMILITY, OBEDIENCE, & TRUST
INTENTION:
One of the most
difficult things I have to do in life, is let go of trying and doing, and just
submit to the Lord.
As He shared with me,
“Life does not become easier… it becomes a life of Letting Go of SELF and
holding onto ME.”
I.
TOPIC:
We want to look at Humility, Obedience, and Trust (in
relation to the Lord).
The word ‘obedience’ for me used to be heavy-ladened with
guilt and shame—that if I wasn’t obedient to God’s Law, then I was apt to be
punished. Just as I was when I didn’t obey my mom or dad. But, as we have
learned, that is not God’s character and nature to punish us (Romans
5:1), but to bless us. And His desire is that we align with Him.
This kind of “obedience” is just choosing Him over choosing anything
else: our God-Given free-will ability to choose Life or Death (Deuteronomy
30:19-20). We all have the free-will choice to believe in Him (Jesus
Christ) or to not. We, even as believers, have a free-will choice to do as He
does (just as Jesus fully demonstrated). Jesus was humbly obedient even unto
death (Philippians
2:8).
That humility that is required to be obedient (which Jesus
had) can be summed up as: humility is not thinking less of yourself, but of
God more. When we make ourselves less than who God says we are, we are
neglecting His Life for us. We humans are the valuable pearl and treasure He
gave it all up for (Matthew
13:44-46). We must always embrace ourselves as who we really are as
believers… “for as Jesus is, so are we in this world” (1
John 4:17).
Furthermore, as believers, we have been given ALL Spiritual
Blessings (Ephesians
1:3); let’s not “humble” ourselves so lowly that we don’t use what He
already gave us. As soon as you believe (Born-Again), you receive it all from
Him. Our obedience to Him as believers does not entail more blessings—we don’t “give
to get”; He gave it all Himself and gifted it to us because He says we deserve
it as just being His Children. Our obedience here was believing in Him.
Thus, as a believer, obedience isn’t about “getting from
God”, but about alignment. He always desires to work in us, through us, and
with us to manifest His Will on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew
6:10). When we align with Him in obedience, we begin to reprogram ourself
in overcoming the flesh. This brings with it the Kingdom of God in our life
manifesting itself in our soul (emotional realm) as Righteousness, Peace, and
Joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans
14:17).
God is also providing us with this ability to be obedient to
Him (us acting in Faith)—Faith literally is just the manifestation of God
in your life. This is because Faith is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Faith is not what we demonstrate toward God (doing for Him to
"move"), it's actually what God is doing through you. God the Father manifested
Himself through Jesus Christ, and it was credited to Jesus Christ as Faith (Hebrews
12:1-2). Jesus demonstrated this for us, gifting us the exact same ability (same
measure of Faith) to do so as well (Romans
12:3).
We mustn’t fall into the “works” trap (even the “faith
works” / “more faith” trap) that approaches God as being “if I do, He will”—thinking
that His blessings (or healings / miracles) only come upon me if “I have
faith”, or if “I do good”, or “if I deserve it” for “God to be proud of me”
(prove my worth to Him). This is works, not obedience. We are set free from
having to “work to earn”. The Lord wants us to be obedient because He desires
for us to live the best life we can here on this earth. And how Jesus lived is
how we can live (doing God’s Will even through persecution).
Jesus's human struggle toward obedience was to deny his
human flesh. When he denied his human flesh, he maintained that obedience to
God the Father. It was the persecution testing Him to see if He would break and
be obedient to His flesh rather than to God—as per His prayer in the Garden
before being arrested (Luke
22:39-46).
Humility involves change. Change
involves growth. Growth involves action. Action involves obedience. Obedience
involves submission. Submission involves humility (putting aside one’s own
wants at the cost of self—our old self).
For me, it is overcoming (overriding) all the things that
had been programmed in me from in the womb that don't belong, that are not
trained in me correctly, or that are in conflict with His want for me—those are
the things of my old self that I have to let go of—even when it is so opposite
to what I am instinctively / subconsciously used to; when in “survival mode”; and
the times that it still "feels" right to me.
I am learning about what I had unintentionally been
submitting to. For who (what) we submit ourselves to, we become slaves to. So,
let’s use our free-will ability to choose an alignment with Him—even when our flesh
objects.
·
Refer also: https://cbadenhorst.blogspot.com/2023/03/pendulum-learning.html
II.
READING: Romans
6:1-23 (ESV)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace
may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do
you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know
that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be
brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one
who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we
believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised
from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10
For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he
lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to
God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make
you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for
unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought
from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but
under grace.
15 What then? Are we to
sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not
know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are
slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of
obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who
were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of
teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin,
have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because
of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as
slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now
present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard
to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the
things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the
fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the
wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. Obeying
God rather than people or the wisdom of this world. There are so many “forces”
trying to pull us away from the Lord—whether a doctrine, teaching, religion,
hate, fear, or “fact”—often programmed in us before we could comprehend. God’s
utmost desire is a freedom-relationship with Him (out from unbelief, works, and
Law).
Acts
5:28-32 (ESV)
Saying, “We strictly
charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with
your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” 29 But Peter
and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our
fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted
him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and
forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the
Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Romans
10:1-4 (ESV)
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may
be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not
according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and
seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Galatians
3:1-5 (ESV)
O foolish Galatians! Who
has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly
portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit
by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun
by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so
many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit
to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing
with faith.
Galatians
5:1-8 (ESV)
For freedom Christ has set
us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to
you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I
testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to
keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified
by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by
faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ
Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only
faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This
persuasion is not from him who calls you.
Question: What does obedience mean to you? How
do you discern that you are hearing the truth (to obey it)?
B. Being
humble is not being weak (nor humiliating). It is a matter of giving yourself
to the Lord to give Him the right to help and assist you in life. His blessings
are not based on our “works” or our “faith”, but based on His generosity (as
being Gifts). We have all spiritual blessings, but we can ensure He gets the
glory (not ourselves) when it comes to our interactions with others—yet not
dismissing yourself. And for the work and transformation inside of you, being
humble is allowing Him to demonstrate a new / different way than what you are
trained in.
Luke
14:11 (ESV)
“For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
James
4:6b-7a (ESV)
Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.
1
Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt
you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Question: What does humility mean to you? Can
you have self-worth and still be humble?
C. Being
humble and obedient comes at the cost of your “old self” (those things /
iniquities you picked up being raised in this world); and sometimes comes with
persecution (whether external or internal).
Ephesians
4:22-24 (ESV)
To put off your old self,
which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful
desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the
new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians
3:9b-13 (ESV)
Seeing that you have put
off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is
being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not
Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God's
chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint
against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also
must forgive.
Hebrews
5:4-9 (ESV)
And no one takes this
honour for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not
exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to
him,
“You
are my Son, today I have begotten you”;
6 as he says also in
another place,
“You
are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications,
with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he
was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the
source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.
Question: Does the cost of self and of
persecution (or internal anxiety) make you hesitant to do as the Lord says?
D. Trusting
is not always something that comes naturally to our being (especially from all
the times of hurt and abandonment we felt growing up that carried into
adulthood). Learning to Trust the Lord is something that I have had to develop
in me. And I have found it a very important aspect in my relationship with
Him—so much so that the title of these Bible Study books is: Trusting the
Father. If we don’t trust God (like I did for most of my life), why would I
want to submit myself to Him. If all He was doing was waiting for me to mess
up, so as to punish me, then I’d rather just stay clear of Him and my perceived
expectations of following the Law for Him. But this kind of trust entails joy,
hopefulness, safety, security, and full confidence (H982 and G1679).
Proverbs
3:5-6 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord with all
your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Romans
8:24-28 (ESV)
For in this hope we were
saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit
helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but
the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And
he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for
those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.
Question: Do you find yourself easily trusting
the Lord? How do you project your experienced relationships on earth to your
relationship with God as a Father?
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. Philippians
2:12-13 (ESV)
Therefore, my beloved, as
you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my
absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God
who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Thoughts: I like to simply believe that: Humility
= Agreeing with God. And the way I have learned this is through simply
obeying Him (being His child) when He says do something—whether for myself and
my own growth, or when it is for someone else. Yet in both humility and
obedience, one has to first trust.
One part of my journey
with the Lord (working out my own salvation) was learning to trust Him and then
humbly be obedient to what He was telling me. Early on, this involved getting
healed from something that had plagued my life from my teenage years into my
adulthood at almost 40 years old: acne. Not only is having acne as a teenager
something I felt shameful of; having it as an adult also carried a shame. I was
very self-conscious. So, the Lord used that for me to start trusting Him, and
not my “own understanding”.
For some people, acne treatments
and scripts (including Dermatologists) help the person’s condition. However, it
was not working for me—even though I was trusting that it eventually would, not
knowing anything different.
The Holy Spirit then
placed on my heart the notion of trusting Him in how He knew best for my own
personal self and treatment I needed apart from what I held onto. He didn’t
condemn me for what I was relying on—no, all He wanted to do was tell me I have
a different way specifically for you.
This was extremely hard
for me and my flesh. Not only was it about trusting that I was hearing Him
correctly, but also just being humble enough to “let go” of what I held to be
true for me. What I held was that I had to use the special soaps and creams, because
that is what is programmed into me from what I see on acne commercials and
such. That the only way to treat it was to go that route; and doing anything
else would make it worse. A big fear for me. Yet, I obeyed.
What that looked like was
listening to Him about what my skin actually needed and wanted—not the chemical
treatments I was used to, but all-natural soaps and lotions that were free from
many of the ingredients found in those other products. I went out and bought an
olive-oil based moisturising soap. This seemed to opposite to what I held onto;
in that to add oil and moisturiser to my face would only have me break out
more!
But I didn’t break out. I
cleared up. What I had been resisting is what was best for me. The Lord knew
that, not me. And that little bit of trust brought about a change to my life.
It wasn’t to do with me “having faith”, nor me “believing more”, but just
listening and obeying Him in trust. From then on, I have never had to use the
things that may help others. He set me personally free from my fear and shame.
This is His Love for me!
And He has the same Love
for you in wanting to bring about a specific change in your life. Sometimes it
just takes trust, humbleness, and obedience. He wants to see you free from
fear, shame, sickness, disease, emotional pain, and so much more. And that
journey for you will look different than others. You can listen to testimonies
of healing shared by so many to help you gain the trust you need in the Lord
(as I did). But whether He shares with you to go to a doctor, get medication,
counselling, or prayer, just obey Him in whichever path He leads you.
It truly becomes about
communicating with the Lord on what He means for your any given situation. How
does His Word directly to you (or His Biblical Word) contain His meaning
(definition) behind it; not what my definition of that word means. Talk to Him
about it and ask. Relationship is about communication, depth, and intimacy.
I Hope you find that for
each and every part of your being that you need His Life!
B. 1
Peter 1:14a (ESV)
As obedient children…
Thoughts: The Lord wants us to be as a
trusting child to Him. Yet, sometimes it feels as though we have to “blindly”
trust Him. But (as He has corrected me) He shows us in the Bible this trust—so,
it is not “blind” or unknown to us. He’s written down His demonstrations of
trust relationships in the Bible—Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Isaiah, the Disciples.
They all wrote down by the Lord their experiences of trust with Him that were
never let down, or led astray, or not taken where freedom existed. These are
there for us to learn. Ask yourself:
·
How can you learn about trust-relationships with
the Lord to help you develop one with Him?
·
How does the Lord act that enables you to trust
Him?
·
How do you act with others that enable them to
trust you—whether a co-worker, spouse, child, parent, friend, stranger, leader,
pastor, or just as a human being?
·
Do you feel you could trust Jesus more than God
or the Holy Spirit? Why?
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & SUPPORT:
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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