WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 Well, if you can keep Proverbs 30 open in front 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:06.960 of you, that'd be really helpful. Let me pray 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:10.080 and let's ask God for help as we look at His 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:18.179 Word now. Gracious Heavenly Father, Your Word 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:21.379 tells us that there are those who are pure in 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:25.179 their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:29.980 filth. That there are those who are wise in their 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:34.500 own eyes. Please Father help us not to be like 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:39.560 that. Please humble us today as we listen to 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:44.380 your word and teach us how crucial and important 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:48.640 humility truly is. And we ask this in Jesus name. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:55.219 Amen. Well years ago I came across the most fascinating 00:00:55.219 --> 00:00:58.039 book. You know there's sometimes you find a book 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:01.420 that's You know, not just insightful, but it's 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:03.140 really well written. It's nice when you get that 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:05.840 rare combination of both, isn't it? And so I 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.359 came across this book. You might have heard of 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:10.680 it. It's called Good to Great by Jim Collins. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:14.379 It's a book about empirical research, which I 00:01:14.379 --> 00:01:16.420 know straight away turns a lot of people off 00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:18.879 when you hear the words empirical research, but 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:21.280 it's actually really well written. It's a book 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:25.180 about exceptional businesses. So what Jim Collins 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:27.879 and his team did was they got together and they 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:32.159 looked at some businesses that vastly outperformed 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:35.959 other businesses and tried to work out what did 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:38.280 these businesses that vastly outperformed the 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.280 other ones have in common. These were the great 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:43.620 ones. Why were these ones great and just the 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:47.019 other ones good? They looked at businesses like 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:50.780 Gillette, Nacor Steel, Fannie Mae and others. 00:01:51.710 --> 00:01:54.930 And after all this research and thinking that 00:01:54.930 --> 00:01:58.930 they did, they came with seven principles. Some 00:01:58.930 --> 00:02:02.650 of them were these businesses confronted the 00:02:02.650 --> 00:02:07.969 brutal facts but still wouldn't lose hope. Some 00:02:07.969 --> 00:02:10.710 of these businesses were very big on who then 00:02:10.710 --> 00:02:12.729 what. They'd go, let's work out who's driving 00:02:12.729 --> 00:02:15.969 the bus before we work out where to go. They 00:02:15.969 --> 00:02:19.050 had a thing called a hedgehog concept, a big 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:22.490 sort of hairy, audacious goal. They'd use new 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:24.530 technology to accelerate what they were doing. 00:02:25.409 --> 00:02:27.909 But one of the things that stuck with me in this 00:02:27.909 --> 00:02:32.250 book, more than the rest actually, was when they 00:02:32.250 --> 00:02:36.990 talked about level five leaders. These were the 00:02:36.990 --> 00:02:40.590 best CEOs. And they were saying in this book 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:43.680 that the best CEOs were not the ... overflowing 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.800 with charisma types like you'd expect. They were 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.879 the ones who blended strong convictions with 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:56.759 deep humility. These were the leaders that were 00:02:56.759 --> 00:03:01.180 great. And it's not what you'd expect. We think 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:04.240 greatness is that larger -than -life kind of 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:07.400 guy, the one who's got all the answers, who can 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:11.259 sell ice to Eskimos, who breaks all the norms. 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:16.319 But they found that the greatest businesses and 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:19.479 the greatest leaders were the ones who had unwavering 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:24.979 conviction blended with humility. Now Good to 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:28.680 Great is not a Christian book, but it's tapping 00:03:28.680 --> 00:03:32.759 into something that the Bible is on about. It's 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:36.400 there trying to show that humility is incredibly 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:42.210 powerful and wise. So, what does it look like 00:03:42.210 --> 00:03:47.270 to be humble? Is humility really the wisest path? 00:03:48.930 --> 00:03:51.789 I mean, in our culture, humility is often overlooked, 00:03:51.949 --> 00:03:55.110 isn't it? The big and the brash, they tend to 00:03:55.110 --> 00:03:58.090 get ahead. That's how it seems to be. And the 00:03:58.090 --> 00:04:00.050 humble, well, they tend to be the ones who get 00:04:00.050 --> 00:04:05.889 hamstrung. Who needs humility? Well, Proverbs 00:04:05.889 --> 00:04:10.530 30 reminds us that we do. Whether we're leaders, 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:16.089 whoever we are, we all need humility. Proverbs 00:04:16.089 --> 00:04:18.569 30 is trying to show us what humility looks like. 00:04:19.089 --> 00:04:22.970 Here's what it looks like. Listen humbly to God's 00:04:22.970 --> 00:04:28.610 voice, live humbly in God's world, and learn 00:04:28.610 --> 00:04:32.420 humbly from God's order. That's what humility 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.959 is about listen humbly to God's voice live humbly 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:40.120 in God's world and learn humbly from God's order 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:43.660 and There's one big thing that ties these three 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:46.079 things together that we're going to see today 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:50.519 Jesus humbled himself to save us from our self 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:54.019 exalting folly So that's what we're going to 00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:56.120 look at today. So let's start with the first 00:04:56.120 --> 00:04:58.500 thing that Proverbs 30 teaches us about humility 00:05:00.129 --> 00:05:05.389 Listen humbly to God's voice. If you got prose 00:05:05.389 --> 00:05:10.149 30 there, come with me to verses 1 to 6. It says, 00:05:10.350 --> 00:05:13.250 the sayings of Agur son of Jakar and inspired 00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:17.629 utterance, this man's utterance to Ithiel. I 00:05:17.629 --> 00:05:22.870 am weary God, but I can prevail. Surely I am 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:26.300 only a brute, not a man. I do not have human 00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:28.819 understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:30.639 have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:34.500 One. Who has gone up to heaven and come down? 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:37.899 Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:40.660 wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:43.100 all the ends of the earth? What is His name? 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:46.040 And what is the name of His Son? Surely you know. 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:50.079 Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:53.000 to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.060 his words or he will rebuke you and prove you 00:05:56.060 --> 00:06:01.819 a liar. These verses are reminding us to listen 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:05.060 humbly to God's voice. Actually, it reminds me 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.680 of Dirty Harry. You remember Clint Eastwood's 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:11.379 Dirty Harry? A man's got to know his limitations. 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.300 That's what this is trying to tell us. One of 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:19.300 our limitations is we can't know as God knows. 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:25.079 He says here that he's weary and brutish because 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:28.800 he's feeling the limitations of human reason. 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:33.300 But he says he will prevail at the start because 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:37.899 he's able to listen to God's Word. And it lands 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:41.800 on that idea that God's Word is perfect and protective 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:47.379 because no one is like God. No one speaks like 00:06:47.379 --> 00:06:52.949 God. And so, His word should be heeded and not 00:06:52.949 --> 00:07:00.430 added to. And it takes humility to do that. Imagine 00:07:00.430 --> 00:07:04.329 going to the Louvre at night with paint and paintbrush. 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:07.269 Because you're there and you're going, well, 00:07:07.310 --> 00:07:11.069 I saw this painting Mona Lisa, and it just, it's 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:14.240 a bit subpar. And you're thinking, I'll go there 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:16.300 and I'm gonna just jazz it up a bit, I'm gonna 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:19.259 put some disco lights in the background, give 00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:22.500 her a proper smile, it'll make it really good. 00:07:24.220 --> 00:07:28.379 That'd be absurd, wouldn't it? Adding to the 00:07:28.379 --> 00:07:31.139 Mona Lisa would be very damaging, and not just 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:33.319 to the Mona Lisa, but for your bank account too. 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:39.629 Adding is subtracting sometimes, isn't it? What 00:07:39.629 --> 00:07:41.670 you should do is if you ever go to the Louvre 00:07:41.670 --> 00:07:45.149 is admire the Mona Lisa, learn from it, be inspired 00:07:45.149 --> 00:07:49.529 by it, let it move you. To add to it would be 00:07:49.529 --> 00:07:55.689 a disaster. Well, God's Word is like that. It's 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:59.790 perfect and powerful as it is. It doesn't need 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:04.269 changing. It needs to be taken in, absorbed and 00:08:04.269 --> 00:08:11.160 admired. We need to be humble before it. Now 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:13.339 there's a balance here that we need to get right. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:17.000 We don't want to be cultish. We don't want to 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.259 say that there's no place for human reason. That 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:22.860 would be silly, wouldn't it? And even Proverbs 00:08:22.860 --> 00:08:26.839 has actually Egyptian wisdom literature included 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:29.699 in it. So we know that there is great wisdom 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:32.759 to be gleaned from the world around us. The Bible 00:08:32.759 --> 00:08:36.259 doesn't tell me about what to do when my head 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:40.720 gasket blows. My mechanic does that. You know, 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:43.220 it's good to go get wisdom from others. It's 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:47.860 not a bad thing. But there is a recognition here 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:52.539 that the scriptures are something else. They 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:57.179 are God speaking. And therefore we need to humbly 00:08:57.179 --> 00:09:00.159 listen to them. I mean, have you ever thought 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:03.950 about when you're reading your Bible, It's just 00:09:03.950 --> 00:09:07.090 the same as if you were there on Mount Sinai 00:09:07.090 --> 00:09:11.950 like Moses listening to God speak audibly. It's 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:16.190 no different. The Bible is just as much God's 00:09:16.190 --> 00:09:19.610 Word as it is when you stand on Mount Sinai hearing 00:09:19.610 --> 00:09:27.769 God speak. We need to humbly listen to it. But 00:09:27.769 --> 00:09:30.750 this highlights also the great error of Roman 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:35.789 Catholicism and some forms of charismatic theology. 00:09:37.649 --> 00:09:39.690 Because in Roman Catholicism, what they do is 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:42.750 they say the Pope is equal to God's Word. He 00:09:42.750 --> 00:09:45.889 gets to interpret God's Word, which really is 00:09:45.889 --> 00:09:49.789 saying it's on the same level, isn't it? Well, 00:09:49.990 --> 00:09:52.129 that to me, that's adding to God's Word, isn't 00:09:52.129 --> 00:09:59.159 it? It's not a good place to be. And some charismatic 00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:01.480 theology, it's about, oh, I've had a prophecy, 00:10:01.580 --> 00:10:06.000 I've had a word from the Lord. Well, I mean, 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.720 that's something we've got to be very careful 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:11.320 with. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. How do 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:14.440 you know it's actually from God? How do you know 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:16.679 it wasn't just the cheese that you ate last night? 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:20.740 I mean, I'm not trying to be too silly, but I'm 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:24.080 saying it is tricky, right? How do you know that 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.409 it's not the voice of the evil one? So we've 00:10:28.409 --> 00:10:32.029 got to be careful. Are we adding to God's Word? 00:10:32.309 --> 00:10:36.450 I mean, I think that's to go around saying God 00:10:36.450 --> 00:10:39.830 spoke to me when he didn't is actually misrepresenting 00:10:39.830 --> 00:10:43.590 God in a big way, isn't it? So there's some real 00:10:43.590 --> 00:10:46.250 dangers there that we've got to be careful of. 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:50.590 But for us, if we want to be humble and wise, 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:54.730 we need to be teachable. I mean, this can be 00:10:54.730 --> 00:10:59.720 the era that we fall into in our tribe is that 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:03.419 we don't let the Bible push us and unsettle us. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:07.600 We can easily get into a point where we think 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.679 we know it all, don't we? That's equally a danger, 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:16.340 isn't it? So we need to keep letting the Bible 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:21.799 challenge us. That's the humble approach. You 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:23.019 might be thinking, well Brendan, what's that 00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:27.580 look like? Well, if something in the Bible seems 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:30.200 wrong to you, it looks like this. You come across, 00:11:30.299 --> 00:11:31.759 you're reading your Bible, something, you go, 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:34.440 that seems wrong. It might be really uncomfortable 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:36.700 and unsettling. It could be something like, hell 00:11:36.700 --> 00:11:40.580 is real, or homosexuality is a sin, or whatever 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:43.220 it might be. You know, the genocides in the Old 00:11:43.220 --> 00:11:46.519 Testament, something like that. And it's so easy 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:52.539 to go, okay, the Bible must be wrong here. That's 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:55.840 not how we should think. If something in the 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.679 Bible seems wrong to you, here's the humble approach. 00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:02.860 You think, either I've interpreted this wrong, 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:09.080 or I'm wrong and I need to change. And I tell 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.320 you what, if you've been reading the Bible for 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:15.799 a long time, you'll see, you'll know, you'll 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.019 agree with me that the Bible is right. It is 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:23.100 perfect and flawless. It is powerful to protect 00:12:23.100 --> 00:12:26.879 us. If you haven't been reading the Bible for 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:28.340 a while and you're saying, Brennan, that sounds 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:31.639 a bit crazy, can I encourage you to go read it? 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:34.159 Sit down and read one of the Gospels, Matthew, 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:36.820 Mark, Luke or John. Check it out for yourself. 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:42.519 See how powerful the Bible is. It's unlike anything 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.940 else. And that's why we need to humbly listen 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:51.820 to it. But humility is not just about listening. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.330 It's also about living. And here's the second 00:12:55.330 --> 00:12:59.350 thing we need to see from Proverbs 30. Secondly, 00:12:59.570 --> 00:13:04.990 we live humbly in God's world. Have a look with 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:24.590 me at verses seven to nine. Otherwise I may have 00:13:24.590 --> 00:13:27.789 too much and disown you and say, who is the Lord? 00:13:28.769 --> 00:13:32.309 Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonour 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:37.429 the name of my God. Now in this section, it's 00:13:37.429 --> 00:13:40.889 warning us about a wrong way to live, a distorted, 00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:44.970 arrogant way to live. And it starts with a prayer 00:13:44.970 --> 00:13:51.620 about two things. A petition for honesty. and 00:13:51.620 --> 00:13:55.340 humble provision from God. So he's saying living 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:58.159 by deception, a lot of people think that's the 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:00.539 way to get ahead in the world, that's the wise 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:03.700 way. He's saying no, it's actually harmful because 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:07.299 getting ahead is not everything. And then he 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:09.759 goes on to say that really what we should be 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.279 thinking is that we need a balance in life. We 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:16.740 need to ask God to provide not too much and not 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:20.820 too little. because either has the potential 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:24.840 to damage our relationship with God, either will 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:28.299 become self -sufficient and dishonour God, think 00:14:28.299 --> 00:14:31.940 it's all about me and myself and be arrogant, 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:39.100 or will go steal and dishonour God. And so he's 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:40.820 trying to walk this fine line. He's saying there's 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:43.539 a balance to life. It's a bit like packing on 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:46.720 a trip. The other day I went to Sydney for my 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.500 uncle's funeral. And, you know, now you've got 00:14:49.500 --> 00:14:52.620 all these baggage limits. They seem to just go 00:14:52.620 --> 00:14:54.960 a bit smaller every couple of years, don't they? 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.379 So, you know, I'm there and I'm trying to not 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:02.179 overpack. So I don't want to get, you know, half 00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:05.200 my wardrobe in there and get all the heavy and 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:07.899 bulky things that'll exceed the baggage limits. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:10.399 So that wouldn't be good. But I don't want to 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.029 underpack. because I don't want everyone to put 00:15:13.029 --> 00:15:15.789 up with my smell from the unwashed clothes that 00:15:15.789 --> 00:15:18.509 I'm wearing for the third time. You know, you're 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:22.049 trying to get the balance right. Packing well 00:15:22.049 --> 00:15:27.210 means getting the balance right. And life is 00:15:27.210 --> 00:15:31.889 like that. I mean, if this life is all there 00:15:31.889 --> 00:15:37.740 is, it makes sense to hoard, doesn't it? I mean, 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:40.039 that's the most logical wise thing. If there 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:43.259 is no God and we all die and that's it and you're 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:46.679 just grey matter twitching, well then, hey, he 00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:51.980 who dies with the most toys wins. But if there 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:54.759 is more to life, if there is a God who reigns 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:57.559 over everything, who loves us, who sent his son 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:03.019 to die for us, if there is eternity, well then... 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:05.980 We need to be wise in how we balance things. 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:09.879 This life is temporary. It's a trip to glory, 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:14.259 isn't it? And we need to pack right. We don't 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:16.019 want to overpack now. We don't want to underpack. 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.360 We want to make sure we get there to eternity. 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:27.399 That's the key. Now, I reckon this is a real 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:32.159 blind spot for us who live in the West. Are we 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:35.519 guarding ourselves against the dangers of lack 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:39.980 and excess? I mean, I think we all see the real 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:43.960 danger of lack, whether it's money or relationships 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:46.139 or whatever it might be. We go, lack is a bad 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:50.759 thing. We don't want to be missing out. And this 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:53.320 is pointing out the wisdom of that. You know, 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.379 we don't want to be lacking and then stop trusting 00:16:56.379 --> 00:17:00.830 God and do things that dishonour him. But there 00:17:00.830 --> 00:17:05.930 is also a danger of excess. That if you get way 00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:10.529 more than you need, it can go to your head. And 00:17:10.529 --> 00:17:15.069 you can forget God and stop thinking that you 00:17:15.069 --> 00:17:19.950 need him. You know, you could imagine two people 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:24.289 and they're opening their mail. The person with 00:17:24.289 --> 00:17:27.029 lack, they open another bill and they're there 00:17:27.029 --> 00:17:31.529 and they're freaking out. How do I pay it? and 00:17:31.529 --> 00:17:35.029 they come up with some way, some dodgy way to 00:17:35.029 --> 00:17:38.509 take or do something wrong, that's dishonouring 00:17:38.509 --> 00:17:43.410 to God. But it's just as much a danger for the 00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:45.230 person who's there opening their mouth to find 00:17:45.230 --> 00:17:47.829 out that their great aunt or something has given 00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:52.329 them a large inheritance. And that, yeah, their 00:17:52.329 --> 00:17:55.670 life's so much different now. There's a great 00:17:55.670 --> 00:17:59.460 danger in that too, isn't there? Because both 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:03.539 lack and excess can threaten humility and threaten 00:18:03.539 --> 00:18:09.160 our relationship with God. And so what does Proverbs 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:16.859 30 tell us to do? It tells us to pray. Pray we'd 00:18:16.859 --> 00:18:24.039 live humble and content lives. Is that your prayer? 00:18:27.690 --> 00:18:30.809 I was reflecting on this and I thought, it's 00:18:30.809 --> 00:18:34.069 funny, we pray for so many things, don't we? 00:18:35.549 --> 00:18:38.950 But we so often forget to pray for the state 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:44.230 of our hearts. It's easy to have our list of 00:18:44.230 --> 00:18:46.349 things. Yes, God, I want that. Please do that. 00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:49.690 Please deal with that. But where's the prayer 00:18:49.690 --> 00:18:54.990 for humility and contentment? It's a great challenge, 00:18:55.049 --> 00:19:00.539 isn't it? I feel challenged by it. To pray more 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:07.339 for humility and contentment. But thirdly, Proverbs 00:19:07.339 --> 00:19:11.079 30 wants to tell us that we also need to do one 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:16.000 more thing. We need to learn humbly from God's 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.200 order. We need to learn humbly from God's order. 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.960 If you got your Bible there, come with me to 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:28.950 verses 15 to 23. It says, the leech has two daughters. 00:19:29.869 --> 00:19:33.109 Give, give, they cry. There are three things 00:19:33.109 --> 00:19:35.230 that are never satisfied four that never say 00:19:35.230 --> 00:19:39.930 enough. The grave, the barren womb, land which 00:19:39.930 --> 00:19:42.789 is never satisfied with water, and fire which 00:19:42.789 --> 00:19:46.210 never says enough. The eye that mocks a father 00:19:46.210 --> 00:19:48.690 that scorns an aged mother will be pecked out 00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:50.750 by the ravens of the valley will be eaten by 00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:53.950 the vultures. There are three things that are 00:19:53.950 --> 00:19:56.859 too amazing for me. Four that I do not understand, 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:59.059 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:01.319 snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:04.079 seas, and the way of a man with a young woman. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:07.539 And this is the way of an adulterous woman. She 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:09.940 eats and wipes her mouth and says, I've done 00:20:09.940 --> 00:20:16.380 nothing wrong. And we could go on there. But 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:21.279 here we have a bunch of numeric proverbs. They've 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:24.509 got a pattern of three and then four. Did you 00:20:24.509 --> 00:20:26.670 see that there? There's these patterns of three 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:29.049 and then four. And they're trying to teach us 00:20:29.049 --> 00:20:31.970 about the limits and boundaries of God's order 00:20:31.970 --> 00:20:35.269 in creation. And the trick is to try and work 00:20:35.269 --> 00:20:37.529 out what the three and four things have in common. 00:20:39.029 --> 00:20:43.109 So verses 15 to 16, they're things that always 00:20:43.109 --> 00:20:46.650 want more, they're never satisfied. And that 00:20:46.650 --> 00:20:50.140 this is the nature of things. We live in a world 00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:52.819 where these things are never satisfied. They're 00:20:52.819 --> 00:20:56.500 always going to want more. In verses 18 to 20, 00:20:56.519 --> 00:21:01.619 it's about effortless beauty. And you then get 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.900 the adulteress in verse, at the end there, she 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:09.960 corrupts that. She's the opposite of that, the 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:12.460 way of a man with a young woman. And she's there 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:16.710 saying, I've done nothing wrong. Or then in verses 00:21:16.710 --> 00:21:20.109 21 to 23, it's the normal order gets broken and 00:21:20.109 --> 00:21:24.529 things are not good. In verses 24 to 28, it's 00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:28.769 things that are wee but wise. In verses 29 to 00:21:28.769 --> 00:21:32.569 31, it's those that have a confident stride, 00:21:33.150 --> 00:21:37.670 that they feel very secure. And then the conclusion. 00:21:38.029 --> 00:21:42.349 In verses 32 to 33 is this, if you play the fool 00:21:42.349 --> 00:21:45.470 and exalt yourself or if you plan evil, clap 00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:48.210 your hand over your mouth. For as churning cream 00:21:48.210 --> 00:21:50.589 produces butter and as twisting the nose produces 00:21:50.589 --> 00:21:54.609 blood, so stirring up anger produces strife. 00:21:56.410 --> 00:22:00.910 It's saying life has an order and it's important 00:22:00.910 --> 00:22:04.210 that we humbly accept and respect that order. 00:22:05.009 --> 00:22:08.799 We don't exalt ourselves and constantly have 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.619 endless ambition that we don't fight about everything 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:16.519 and try and keep climbing over everyone, but 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:20.160 that we humbly accept and be content with the 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:24.460 way that God has arranged things. Think of it 00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:27.619 a bit like a playground. When we used to live 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:29.859 in Broken Hill, there was a great playground 00:22:29.859 --> 00:22:34.259 called Sturt Park. Now, as a parent of five kids, 00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:36.819 what makes a great playground? I can tell you. 00:22:37.379 --> 00:22:43.759 A fence. A big fence so that the kids are contained 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.420 and they're safe. And hey, all the other stuff 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:48.799 is good too. You need the slides and the swings 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:51.420 and all the other things, but the fence, the 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:53.799 boundaries, the limits, that's a good thing. 00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:58.559 And they had a safe time. They loved Sturt Park. 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:00.220 They had a flying fox as well. That was a good 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:03.839 thing too. But it was great because they could 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:07.019 enjoy themselves, but there was no risk of ... 00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:10.890 them getting out onto the road or anything. But 00:23:10.890 --> 00:23:13.869 I remember a church I worked at back in Geraldton, 00:23:14.609 --> 00:23:21.029 they had no fence and every Sunday was so stressful 00:23:21.029 --> 00:23:25.690 because kids would play out on the grass and 00:23:25.690 --> 00:23:29.029 there was no fence and the kids could easily 00:23:29.029 --> 00:23:34.430 run out onto the car park and even the road. 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:38.180 Actually, about 30 years before we started working 00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:40.819 there, one kid actually did that and got hit 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:46.839 by a car. It was tragic. And it kept reminding 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:49.940 me, and we actually got a fence put in eventually, 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.019 which was good, but it reminded me just how important 00:23:54.019 --> 00:23:57.960 boundaries and limits are. That we can actually 00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:01.000 flourish and thrive when there are good boundaries 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.460 and limits in place. That there is an order to 00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:06.619 things that boundaries and limits provide. I 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:08.440 mean, you can't have a good game of footy without 00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:10.880 boundaries and limits, can you? Because no one 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:13.099 knows when the ball's gone out or anything like 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:19.599 that. Well, it's the same with life. This is 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.420 showing us that eroticism is bounded to marriage. 00:24:23.929 --> 00:24:26.769 It's showing us that there's a hierarchy which 00:24:26.769 --> 00:24:30.589 is a boundary for society. That there is all 00:24:30.589 --> 00:24:34.829 sorts of things that create good order. And understanding 00:24:34.829 --> 00:24:39.630 and accepting how the world works is humble and 00:24:39.630 --> 00:24:45.809 wise. And this is a challenge to us because so 00:24:45.809 --> 00:24:49.869 much of our modern society is built on hubris. 00:24:50.569 --> 00:24:54.589 And on the assumption that we need to deconstruct 00:24:54.589 --> 00:24:58.470 everything. That we need to remove boundaries 00:24:58.470 --> 00:25:01.609 and hierarchies that existed for millennia because 00:25:01.609 --> 00:25:06.430 they're damaging us all. And somehow, hey, you 00:25:06.430 --> 00:25:08.930 know, today we're just so smart, we know better 00:25:08.930 --> 00:25:14.210 than everybody. And don't mishear me, sometimes 00:25:14.210 --> 00:25:18.009 it is a really good thing. Sometimes there are 00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:21.150 things that need to be changed. challenge, there 00:25:21.150 --> 00:25:26.829 are good innovations. But I think often what 00:25:26.829 --> 00:25:29.970 we tend to do is use a hacksaw instead of a scalpel. 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:33.690 We tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater, 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:38.250 don't we? And when as a society or as individuals 00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:41.549 we do that, we end up creating chaos, disorder 00:25:41.549 --> 00:25:46.140 and anarchy instead of progress. This is a healthy 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:48.819 reminder that restrictions in boundaries and 00:25:48.819 --> 00:25:53.779 limits can be good for us. I mean, think of the 00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:58.599 sexual revolution. There was probably some really 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:00.779 unhealthy repression that needed to be challenged 00:26:00.779 --> 00:26:05.500 there. But they threw the baby out with the bathwater, 00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:11.140 didn't they? And it led to all sorts of hurt 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:16.769 and problems as a society. Feminism has done 00:26:16.769 --> 00:26:23.109 some fantastic good. But sadly it seems like 00:26:23.109 --> 00:26:25.869 it's gone from women can do anything to women 00:26:25.869 --> 00:26:29.990 must do everything. That's really unfair on women. 00:26:32.910 --> 00:26:35.670 There's a utilitarian ethic that just exists 00:26:35.670 --> 00:26:37.950 in our society today that we need to be careful 00:26:37.950 --> 00:26:42.190 of. That we know better and we'll work it out. 00:26:43.690 --> 00:26:47.609 But again, it's built on arrogance, isn't it? 00:26:49.910 --> 00:26:54.390 This is a great reminder that we need to be discerning 00:26:54.390 --> 00:26:56.609 about things that have lasted for a while and 00:26:56.609 --> 00:26:59.930 we need to try and work out what is the good 00:26:59.930 --> 00:27:03.710 order that God has made and go that there is 00:27:03.710 --> 00:27:06.450 some beautiful things there that actually things 00:27:06.450 --> 00:27:10.069 that can feel restrictive may not be. They may 00:27:10.069 --> 00:27:13.759 be the perfect environment. thriving and flourishing. 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:17.779 It's not that we accept everything but we need 00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:21.680 to be wise and thoughtful and humble most of 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:28.400 all. So Proverbs presents a beautiful ideal of 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:32.759 humility yet none of us live up to this ideal 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:37.420 because all of us struggle to see this kind of 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:42.380 humility as wise. We want to throw off the shackles. 00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:44.720 We want to be free. We want to do our own thing. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:48.779 And so listen humbly to God's voice. Well, often 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:51.279 we read the Bible and it's easy to think we know 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:55.240 better, or we add to it, or we just don't absorb 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:57.819 it and treat it as God's word. And that's the 00:27:57.819 --> 00:28:02.119 heart of sin, isn't it? Is to not listen humbly 00:28:02.119 --> 00:28:07.680 to God and treat him as God. What a live humbly 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:11.839 in God's world. We don't trust God as we should. 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:15.740 We keep trying to keep up with the Joneses. Trying 00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:20.420 to get more and more and more. Or we don't learn 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:23.839 humbly from God's order. We see the order that 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:27.019 exists as a straight jacket. Rather than trying 00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:29.839 to understand how it truly works. Trying to understand 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:32.359 the balance and the harmony. Yes, being discerning. 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:34.720 Yes, seeing that some things need to change. 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:38.099 But realising that God has built the world in 00:28:38.099 --> 00:28:41.259 a good way. and that we want to go back to how 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:48.240 he has made everything. But Jesus, he did meet 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.720 that ideal. We don't, but he did. He embodied 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:58.440 humility. He was humility personified. He listened 00:28:58.440 --> 00:29:03.519 humbly to God's voice. He cherished God's word. 00:29:04.660 --> 00:29:06.740 Where the Pharisees and religious heavies of 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:09.220 Jesus' day were adding to it and making rule 00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:13.400 upon rule upon rule, Jesus humbly listened to 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:17.339 the Bible. He so humbly listened to God's word 00:29:17.339 --> 00:29:23.740 that he even went and died on a cross. And he 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:28.339 lived humbly in God's world. He wasn't self -indulgent. 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:32.220 He wasn't a thief or a liar. He trusted God to 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:35.980 provide and he enjoyed and shared what he had 00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:42.440 with others. And he learnt humbly from God's 00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:48.079 order. He understood the created order. So he 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.559 didn't overthrow society. He didn't revolt and 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:56.359 rebel against everything in his day. But he went 00:29:56.359 --> 00:30:03.180 around and changed lives. Humbly, caringly, wisely. 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:11.099 And because Jesus was like this, It led to him 00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:17.700 going to the cross. But why? Why leave heaven 00:30:17.700 --> 00:30:21.660 to be humble and humiliated? Why do that giant 00:30:21.660 --> 00:30:25.740 bungee jump going all the way down to the cross? 00:30:27.900 --> 00:30:29.960 Well, it's so that he could spring back up again 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:35.920 in glory. But not only that. It was so that he 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:41.210 could save us and serve us. Remember what we 00:30:41.210 --> 00:30:46.130 said the big idea of today was? Jesus humbled 00:30:46.130 --> 00:30:50.849 himself to save us from our self -exalting folly. 00:30:52.289 --> 00:30:55.990 He was like a bodyguard. You know how a bodyguard 00:30:55.990 --> 00:30:59.829 jumps out and dives in front and takes a bullet? 00:31:01.089 --> 00:31:04.589 Well a good bodyguard does anyway. Well that's 00:31:04.589 --> 00:31:08.960 what Jesus did for us at the cross. He humbly 00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:13.819 leapt in front of us so that we could be saved 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:20.279 from our folly. So what's this mean for us? Well, 00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:23.640 if you're not yet a Christian, can I suggest 00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:29.339 you leave today taking a humble response? We've 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:31.759 got up the back for free. You can grab one of 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:35.299 these. They're Mark's Gospel. Grab one of Mark's 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:37.519 Gospel and have a read of it and I'd encourage 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:41.559 you to humbly read it. Look at it, check it out, 00:31:41.559 --> 00:31:46.640 see if Jesus is as humble and awesome as what 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:49.779 I'm claiming today. If you've got questions, 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:52.220 you know, scribble them in the margins or get 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:55.480 a notepad and write all your questions down and 00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:58.619 come and have a coffee with me. I'd love to have 00:31:58.619 --> 00:32:01.839 a coffee with you and talk about what you found 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:04.799 in Mark's Gospel about Jesus and answer any questions 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:10.319 you might have. But if you're here today and 00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:14.579 you're a Christian, I want to remind you because 00:32:14.579 --> 00:32:18.839 we're saved, we need to strive to be humble. 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:24.019 Jesus saved us from our self -exalting folly. 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:28.460 It's not a good place to be. And so what's it 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:30.000 mean for us to be humble? Well, we've looked 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:32.859 at that today. It's to get deep into God's Word, 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:37.720 isn't it? It's to read, think and pray on God's 00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:40.619 Word. And that's what we do at a church on a 00:32:40.619 --> 00:32:42.720 Sunday. It's something we need to be doing individually. 00:32:43.099 --> 00:32:45.180 It's something we do as well in a growth group 00:32:45.180 --> 00:32:49.200 or a one -to -one. So please make sure you're 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:52.380 someone who's deep into God's Word, letting it 00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:57.460 teach you and change you and move you. But also 00:32:57.460 --> 00:33:01.259 we need to be people who pray for balance. Neither 00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:05.440 poverty nor riches. That we'd be content and 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:10.380 generous and honest. And that we'd be people 00:33:10.380 --> 00:33:13.400 who don't just jump on the latest bandwagon of 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:18.599 ideology or social norm. That we let God's Word 00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:22.140 and our observations help us critique traditions 00:33:22.140 --> 00:33:26.380 and movements. So that we can see what God's 00:33:26.380 --> 00:33:30.339 order is and how to live in a way that is honoring 00:33:30.339 --> 00:33:36.539 and pleasing to him and good for us Let me ask 00:33:36.539 --> 00:33:40.859 you will you be teachable thoughtful and not 00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:47.680 letting your ego run your life When I read good 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:51.490 to great it surprised me that humility was such 00:33:51.490 --> 00:33:55.450 a powerful and effective aspect of great leaders. 00:33:57.230 --> 00:34:01.769 But it shouldn't have. Because you can't be wise 00:34:01.769 --> 00:34:04.910 without humility, can you? Not just leaders, 00:34:04.970 --> 00:34:10.050 but anyone. It's an essential part of wisdom, 00:34:10.849 --> 00:34:15.590 is that we be humble. So will you walk the path 00:34:15.590 --> 00:34:21.710 of humility? Will you seek to be humble too? 00:34:22.809 --> 00:34:28.969 Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you 00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:33.369 so much that you sent Jesus to save us from our 00:34:33.369 --> 00:34:37.289 self -exalting folly. And please, Father, help 00:34:37.289 --> 00:34:41.010 us to be people who humbly receive His salvation, 00:34:41.929 --> 00:34:45.489 who humbly receive Your Word implanted in us, 00:34:46.309 --> 00:34:51.860 who humbly live a contented life, trusting you 00:34:51.860 --> 00:34:57.260 to provide, who humbly respect and accept your 00:34:57.260 --> 00:35:02.039 order for the world. Please, Father, give us 00:35:02.039 --> 00:35:05.800 wisdom and help us to rejoice in you always. 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:09.500 And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.