Serving God Humbly

Humility is a rare commodity these days. Too many people insist their personal view about everything must be seen and heard by everyone. They believe humility is a sign of weakness and/or cowardice; that meek folks don’t get noticed and are, therefore, insignificant.

However, the greatest, most influential person who ever walked the earth self-identified as being “gentle and humble in heart“ (Matthew 11:29). Yet those traits never once lessened the authority and power He displayed in His words and actions. Therefore, every Christian should strive to serve God and our neighbors gently and humbly.

Jesus was transparent about His mission – to faithfully serve His Heavenly Father. He publicly acknowledged, “I’ve come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the One who sent Me. Now this is the will of the One who sent Me – that I should not lose one person of every one He’s given Me, but raise them all up at the last day“ (John 6:38-39).

He also openly preached that the sovereign Father has preordained everything that occurs. “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will“ (Matthew 10:29). Ian Hamilton wrote, “Did this knowledge leave our blessed Savior proud, distant, clinically distant of unenlightened sinners? Did He parade His ‘Calvinism’ for all to see? The very reverse was true. He was God’s chosen Servant, His own dearly beloved Son.”

Christ’s demeanor showed His followers how they’re to conduct themselves. As Isaiah had prophesized about Him centuries earlier, “He’ll not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. He’ll not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick…” (Matthew 12:19-20). Nevertheless, our gentle and humble Lord permanently altered the course of human history.

Jesus never said His gentle and humble countenance was different from His Father’s. On the contrary, He proclaimed, “The Father and I are one“ (John 10:30), confirming that our Father God is loving and merciful, too. Dane Ortlund wrote, “The sins of those who belong to God open the floodgates of His heart of compassion for us. The dam breaks. It’s not our loveliness that wins His love. It’s our unloveliness. Our hearts gasp to catch up with this. It’s not how the world around us works. It’s not how our own hearts work.”

Will serving God humbly make our lives run smoother? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But humbling ourselves before our Lord isn’t optional. Humility is the key to sincere and acceptable worship. Hamilton wrote, “Whatever else marks Christian worship, a deep sense of the greatness and glory of God, and the littleness of man, will be a compelling note in our church gatherings.”

“Since we’re receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. For our God is indeed a devouring fire“ (Hebrews 12:28-29). Sadly, many modern-day churches have turned their services into “extravaganzas” wherein the preacher and/or the musicians involved become the focus of the congregation’s attention, not the soul-saving gospel. That’s a shame. They’re robbing themselves of the joy found in being reverent before God.

A truly gentle and humble pastor relies only on the power and grace that flows from the Holy Word for expanding God’s kingdom. Some of the most effective preachers have been soft-spoken orators (Martyn Lloyd-Jones comes to mind.) God doesn’t need us to be charismatic or instantly likeable in order for the gospel message we share to transform hearts from stone to flesh. Simply telling somebody Christ died on a cross to atone for their sins is all that’s required. The Holy Spirit does the rest.

Often my “cleverness” gets in the way of delivering the “Good News” efficiently. At our local Celebrate Recovery ministry I sometimes emcee the large group session. What I often find myself doing, though, is racking my brain to come up with something “thought-provoking” to end with when the fundamental gospel truth is more than enough. God doesn’t need my help. He just wants me to tell the truth about Jesus.

In my previous blog, I wrote about misconceptions surrounding Calvinism. One is that Calvinists deem themselves “privileged characters” because they know they’re among the elect. Wrong. Calvinism, by its very nature, dissolves any trace of pride a person like me might harbor. When I contemplate that despite being an unholy and unrighteous sinner God has adopted me as an heir to all He’s created, it drives me to my knees in gratitude.

I have nothing to be proud of. I’m literally “like a burning stick snatched from the fire“ (Zechariah 3:2). I believe with all my heart what Christ told His disciples about Himself: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing“ (John 15:5). The only pride I have lies is in knowing Jesus as my friend and redeemer.

I agree with Paul, who said, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world“ (Galatians 6:14).

John Calvin wrote, “When viewing our miserable condition since Adam’s fall, all confidence and boasting are overthrown, we blush for shame… It’s impossible to think of our primeval dignity without being immediately reminded of the sad spectacle of our ignominy and corruption, ever since we fell from our original in the person of our first parent. In this way we feel dissatisfied with ourselves, and become truly humble, while we’re inflamed with new desires to seek after God.”

Defending Calvinism, Hamilton opined, “Calvinism is proud, but only of the Savior; proud of His glory and of His grace; proud that, though He was rich, yet for our poor, judgment-deserving sakes, He became poor, so that by His poverty we might become rich.” He rightly concluded, “Proud Calvinism is the ultimate oxymoron.”

Conversion

Some Christians can tell you the day and hour God gifted them with “a new heart,” put “a new spirit” in them, removed their “heart of stone,” and replaced it with “a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).  Conversely, some like myself know the same miracle happened to them but can’t pinpoint the where or when.

Ian Hamilton wrote, “No two Christians have an identical spiritual pathology.  There’s nothing formulaic about the way God brings sinners into a saving relationship with Himself.”  One’s conversion is as unique as one’s fingerprints.  But even though our “moment of enlightenment” may not have been as dramatic as, say, Isaiah’s was, every believer can identify with the transformation that completely altered his life.

Isaiah described his close encounter with God in chapter 6.  Up till then, he’d been broadcasting what was obvious; that Israel was headed for disaster.  Then the Lord miraculously opened up the heavens before his awe-struck eyes. Isaiah was never the same.  He wrote, “In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne” (6:1).  Our own being-made-aware-of-God’s-majesty episode may pale in comparison but every Christian has received at least a fleeting glimpse of paradise – figuratively or literally – and it changed us.

Isaiah’s resulting recognition of his sinful nature was, like ours, profound.  He exclaimed, “Woe is me!  I’m destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin…” (6:5).  When, in the depths of despair, I was confronted with the immaculate holiness of God I felt an unworthiness impossible to describe.  I didn’t “see” heaven but I definitely understood how short of righteous I’d been living my life. To say it was humbling is putting it mildly.

I thought I’d learned everything about God but I was sadly mistaken.  Hamilton described my “rude awakening” well: “No amount of intellectual ability or spiritual giftedness can substitute for a life that’s been overwhelmed by a personal sense of God’s glory, resulting in a personal, and deepening, sense of the sinfulness of sin.”

But, like mine, Isaiah’s despondency over his unworthiness to stand before the ultimate Judge was short-lived.  In his case, an angel informed him: “Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven” (6:7).  In that instant when self-loathing turns into relief every Christian rejoices in the realization that the blood of Jesus has washed them clean and made them acceptable to God because they’re now “a new creation,” and “what is old has passed away – what is new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Everything about Isaiah, and all believers, changed.  Our appearance didn’t, necessarily, but our outlook definitely did.  Having been designated a member of God’s “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5), we yearn to get the word out about what Christ has done for us.  When the Lord asked Isaiah, “Whom will I send?  Who will go on our behalf?” he responded immediately with “Here I am, send me!” (6:8).  No true Christian hides their born-again status.  Rather, they boldly proclaim it.

Understand that, as it was with the prophet, the message God has given His elect to spread across the globe won’t be appreciated by everybody.  That uncomplicated message is: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life.  The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).  Folks don’t like being told there’s no gray area when it comes to Jesus.  Yet it’s our job to tell them He’s the only hope they’ve got.

I honestly wish I’d been granted a spectacular vision like Isaiah’s.  Or a mind-blowing visit by Christ Himself like the one Paul experienced on the Damascus road.  But I didn’t.  Understand, I’d run as far as I could from God. But when I finally fell to my knees and begged for rescue from my sinful nature all I heard was a soft, compassionate voice inside my head whispering, “Just come back home.”

I knew instinctively where home was due to my having been raised in the church.  Despite being baptized at a young age, after four decades AWOL my faith had shriveled smaller than a mustard seed.  But I knew the tender voice I heard was my Savior’s and I surrendered to Him that night without hesitation.  That’s how my conversion came about.

That was 13 years ago.  I’m not yet the man I want to be but I’m certainly not the one I used to be.  Nowadays I’m a grateful leader in one of Jesus’ ministries and I try to obey the Bible’s urging to “Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say, rejoice!  Let everyone see your gentleness.  The Lord is near!” (Philippians 4:4-5).  Only when believers share Jesus’ incomparable love will men and women desire to seek Him.

Spurgeon preached, “We ought to love all our hearers, and the gospel is to be preached by us to every creature.  I hate sin everywhere, but I love and wish to love yet more and more every day the souls of the worst and vilest of men.  Yes, the gospel speaks of love, and I must breathe it forth, too, in every act and deed.  If our Lord was love incarnate, and we’re His disciples, let all take knowledge of us that we’ve been with Jesus and learned of Him.”

James S. Stewart wrote, “What God has done once for all requires to be re-explored by the best thought of every generation.  And particularly, in this day of rival philosophies and formidable ideologies, it’s essential there should be a reasonable defense of the faith.  It’s a great thing to be able to show, as I believe we can, that intellectually as well as spiritually Christian doctrine hangs together and makes sense of the world.”

Stewart added, “From the point of giving a rational account of the universe, there’s more to be said for Christianity than for any of the alternatives.”  So true.  But who’s to deliver the soul-saving message?  Us. Every converted soul must rise and announce to God, “Here I am, send me!”

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The Supernatural Word of God

Supernatural.  It’s a term that gets tossed around casually these days as if it describes something common.  Yet if something’s common it’s definitely not supernatural.  In fact, the only thing that’s unquestionably supernatural is the Bible.  Of course, the same adjective is often attached to other “sacred books” so the proof has to be in the pudding, as they say, and only God’s Holy Word aces all the qualifying tests.

Understand that Christians don’t believe the Bible is supernatural simply because it declares it’s inspired by God.  On the contrary, we accept its spiritual authenticity due to its attributes that are undeniably inexplicable.  The best examples are the astonishingly specific prophecies found in its pages.  No other tome comes close to matching their precision.

Infallible prognostications matter because they can only come from God.  As Eric Lyons stated, “Completely accurate, fulfilled prophecy is a characteristic that verifies the divine inspiration of the Bible.”  Paul wrote, “Every scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).  Peter declared: “No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Because historical evidence shows every prediction in the Bible came to be, atheists have difficulty denying something supernatural must’ve been involved.  And, since the definition of supernatural is “a manifestation or event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature,” then the Bible’s “supernaturalness” logically indicates a supernatural author.  Therefore, in this essay I’ll highlight the fact that Biblical prophecy alone confirms the existence of an omniscient, sovereign God.

History’s filled with people like Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce who claimed they could see into the future.  However, their predictions were wrong as often as they were right, whereas an authentic prophet would never be wrong.  Common sense insists only God knows the future so the only genuine “seers” were those like Jeremiah who revealed his information source when he wrote, “Whose command was ever fulfilled unless the LORD decreed it?” (Lamentations 3:37).

The list of Old Testament prophecies that happened as predicted would fill reams so I’ll zero in on just a few, beginning with the destruction of the Phoenician island city of Tyre, one of the most prosperous in antiquity. Since it stood un-assailed for well over 2,000 years, it was considered impregnable in its era.  In the early 6^th century B.C. Ezekiel prophesized that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would besiege Tyre for 13 years.  Between 586 and 573 B.C. the notorious king did just that.

Ezekiel looked even further down the corridors of time in his futuristic visions, though.  He predicted many nations would attack Tyre, it’d be literally thrown into the sea, it’d become no more than a decent place to fish and it’d never be rebuilt.  Bear in mind this was over three centuries before these things occurred.

In 392 B.C. the Persian, Cyprian and Egyptian kings joined up to make war against Tyre.  In 332 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered it and proceeded to not only smash it to pieces, but instructed his army to throw every bit (including its soil) into the Mediterranean, an unprecedented act of vengeful demolition.  Thus, to deem Ezekiel’s prophecy merely “guesswork” is absurd.  He obviously heard it directly from God.

I mentioned the mighty Babylon. In the 8^th century B.C. the prophet Isaiah predicted in detail how God would decimate it as if it’d already happened, writing: “Babylon has fallen, fallen!  All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!” (21:9).  He then prophesized the Medes and Persians would overrun it. They did.

Furthermore, Isaiah proclaimed Babylon would be defeated by a Persian king named Cyrus.  What’s astonishing is Cyrus wouldn’t be born for another century and a half after Isaiah’s death!  Adding to that spot-on prediction, the prophet forecast Cyrus would serve as God’s “anointed king” who’d grant the captive Israelites a safe return to Jerusalem.

On God’s behalf Isaiah wrote “I am the LORD …who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” (44:24,28).

Of course, all these events occurred hundreds of years later, exactly as Isaiah said they would.  Historians have confirmed a ruler named Cyrus did reign over the Medo-Persian Empire.  He did ransack Babylon.  He did release the Jews from their captivity and did help them migrate back home so they could erect a new temple in Jerusalem.

In addition, Jeremiah predicted Babylon’s water supply would dry up and that its soldiers would be unconscious when the Persians showed up.  Sure enough, Cyrus had the Euphrates rerouted so his troops could enter the city where the river used to flow into it.  Turns out the Babylonian forces were blotto due to boozing it up big time at one of their festivals.  I could cite many more instances where Biblical prophecy was right on the mark but you get the point.

Muslims allege the Qur’an was inspired by Allah because it contains prophesies, too.  But the truth is it lacks a single specific, multiple or long-term prediction that came to pass.  Not one.  When it comes to foretelling events, the Bible stands unequaled in all of literature.  That’s because only God knows what He’s willed to happen.

Norman Geisler wrote, “The Bible’s the only book that both claims and proves to be the Word of God.  It claims to be written by prophets of God who recorded in their own style and language exactly the message God wanted them to give humankind.  Their writings claim to be the unbreakable, imperishable and inerrant words of God.  The evidence that their writings are what they claimed to be is found not only in their moral character but in the supernatural confirmation of their message, its prophetic accuracy, its amazing unity and its transforming power.”