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Living Hope SDA Church

Christian Martin

The Choice to be Humble

Today we gather together for what we call communion service, otherwise known as the Lord's Supper.

And again, I want to welcome you to participate.

At Seventh-day Adventist, we welcome, we practice open communion, which means we welcome you with open arms, whether you're a member of the church or not.

We follow Jesus, and when we follow him, Jesus, whosoever comes to him, he will by no means cast out.

What a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful promise.

You know, the Lord himself appeared to Solomon by night.

And he said these words, If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

You know we can choose to decisively turn from our wicked ways.

But we won't, unless we surely seek His face.

We can earnestly seek His face, but we won't unless we are seriously praying.

And we can choose to submissively pray, but we won't unless we choose to humble ourselves.

Thus, revival begins by making a choice, the choice to be humble.

Today, in the message I want to share with you as we prepare our hearts to have an encounter with Jesus is entitled the choice to be humble.

Oh Father in heaven when it comes to eternal things, when When we by faith enter into the spiritual realm, we know that there is no such thing as a mere coincidence.

You're God, You know the end from the beginning.

You desire that all be saved and all come to acknowledge the truth.

And today, Lord, Today, you impressed us to come, to come here.

And so we ask that whatever is heard, that you would soften our hearts, that your word would be received.

Thank you, Lord, that we are together in your presence.

So now word of God, word of God speak, speak to us today.

If someone has a problem with time management, well, it's easy to recognize the problem.

Because they will feel consistently behind.

But they could easily resolve it by organizing tools, making use of planners, starting to make to-do lists.

There are certain things that 1 can do to resolve the problem of being constantly behind.

Another example, if someone has a problem with poor sleeping habits, well, it's easy to recognize because they're going to feel tired or sluggish.

But they could easily resolve it by, well, setting a sleep schedule.

You can avoid screens just before bedtime because it messes with your mind, there's things you can do to resolve it.

If someone has a problem with poor diet and nutrition, Well, it's only a matter of time.

It's easy to recognize because they feel low energy and they, well, gain weight.

But they could easily resolve it by incorporating more whole foods, being able to drink lots of more water, keep hydrated, avoid excessive foods, processed foods and sugars, you know, etc., etc.

There's things he could do to easily resolve it.

I'm sure all of us have areas in our lives that at some point or another have become problems.

We recognize them And then come up with a game plan.

God has given you a mind, wisdom to be able to think and make a change.

But, 1 of the most difficult problems to recognize and resolve is that of pride.

You know, let's start with an obvious question, okay.

The problem is that it's not a focus on the Lord.

It's a focus on self, on self, and a belief that 1 is above others.

In other words, he could say it's an exalted view of oneself.

It's a definition that Christians get from the Bible.

Oh yeah, the Bible has lots to say about pride.

Lots to say, especially the book of wisdom and Proverbs, has a lot to say about pride and a proud look, as well as scripture in both the Old and New Testament.

Notice what He said in his book, Mere Christianity.

It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.

Not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God.

In fact, King Solomon, the wisest man on earth, if only because God gave him a wise and discerning heart.

King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 6, verse 16, that a proud look is a sin that the Lord hates.

And if you study this theme in scripture, you'll actually discover that there's a development of pride.

The Bible describes the development of pride.

It begins when 1 becomes so full of themselves That they are less and less and less mindful of God.

And they start thinking to themselves, I did all this.

Yes, it has its bad days and bad seasons, but hey, life can be good sometimes, right?

It grows when things go well and there appears to be no need of God.

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The Choice to be Humble

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