The Bible admonishes us to adjust our lifestyle and to walk in a certain way, to walk worthy. Howard was a most talented church choir director. His life was filled with humble service to the Lord and to His church. He was truly a “glory-deflector”—one who was always careful to give God the glory. One afternoon before the Christmas cantata, a choir member approached Howard and said, “Tonight, all of the men are going to wear colorful bow-ties to celebrate the season. Do you want to wear one also”? ¹ In a very loving but direct response, Howard said, “I do not want to do anything that would distract others from clearly hearing our message of the gospel.” Howard was demonstrating what walking worthy  means? Are you walking worthy? Is your humility helping others to clearly hear the gospel?

Ephesians 4:1–3
1 I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

What Walking Worthy Isn’t

• “Walking in a manner worthy” references the ‘inside’ virtues of Christianity.
• Notice what is not on the list.
  • Faith
  • Power
  • Knowledge of God’s Word
  • Spiritual gifts
• The first thing on the list is humility.
• So, what is humility?

Humility is Reality

• Humility is acknowledging the truth about all the aspects of your life.
• It is a tremendous word to help you discover the truth about yourself.
• What is the truth about your talents
• Who is responsible for them?
• Where did they come from?
• What is the truth or reality about?
  • your gifting’s
  • your calling
  • your position in Christ
  • your intelligence
  • your looks
  • your possessions
  • your personality
  • your spiritual development
• Where did all this come from?
• What is the truth about you as it connects to God?
• How much of what you have is because of you?
• How much of your intelligence is you and how much is God?
• How many of the things you possess are really because of you and how much is because of the goodness of God?
• Pride, the opposite of humility, occurs when you have a different viewpoint or a different estimation than what is actual reality.
• When you estimate yourself more highly than actual reality that is called pride.
• Walking in pride is not walking worthy of your calling.
• Some have a false humility which comes from not doing the hard work of examining and settling in on the reality of each area.
• They will say things like, ‘Well, it’s just all God.” But, this is false humility.
• False humility is nothing but religious thinking. It’s a cop out and certainly not reality.
• For every aspect of your life, there is God’s part and your part.
• You need God and God’s needs you to yield so His plan can come forth in your life.
• Spirit life is a relationship not a dictatorship.
• Humility is getting the balance right between the parts.
• Here are four realizations you should come to about yourself.

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You are Nothing In Yourself

Galatians 6:3 (ESV)
3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

• Everything you are, you are because of Him.
• Everything you are, you are because of whom you are in Jesus.
• People may say after they hear you speak, “Wow you are so anointed.”
• Why are you anointed? You are anointed because you are in Him.
• People may say “Wow you are pretty talented.”
• You are talented because God gave you those talents.
• This is reality. God really did this, not you. He is responsible.
• People may say, “Wow, you are so pretty or you’re so handsome.”
• You are pretty or handsome because God made your face.
• People may say, “Wow, you are so smart.”
• The reality is you would be dumb as a brick if it were not for God.
• This is the reason, you never put people up on a pedestal.
• These people, who you exalt in your estimation admire, where did they get the traits that you are admiring?

Psalm 127:1 (ESV)
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

• You are nothing in yourself – to think that you are is deception.
• So, if ‘nothing’ is trying to produce ‘something’, – what is that?
• Nothing producing something equals nothing. That is God’s version of ‘new’ math.

You Know Nothing by Yourself

1 Corinthians 8:2 (ESV)
2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

• You were not born with the knowledge that you now possess. This is reality.
  • Your mother taught you your ABC’s.
  • Your father taught you things.
  • Your school teachers taught you.
  • Even the bad stuff you learned which you wish you didn’t know, someone else helped you to learn that.
  • Surely anything spiritual, you didn’t learn by yourself, the Holy Spirit taught either directly or godly vessels that He called and equipped
• True knowledge should lead us to love people and to love God.
• If this doesn’t happen, than the outworking of knowledge will puff you up and fill you with pride.
• Knowledge is to help people, not to club people.
• If you ever feel superior, you are not walking in love.
• If you maintain a humble heart, you will always be in position to receive things from others, no matter who they are.
• You should keep your heart in position to learn from anyone.
• That leaves all avenues open for God to get the answer to you.
• As one gentleman said,

It’s what you learn after you think you know it all that counts.

Job 39:13–17 (ESV)
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? 14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, 15 forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. 16 She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, 17 because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.

• Why did the Lord withhold understanding from the ostrich, to punish the ostrich?
• No, it is a sign to you that you may know that all understanding comes from God.
• Nebuchadnezzar learned this lesson the hard way.

Daniel 4:28–33 (ESV)
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

• Nebuchadnezzar thought he was something.
• He thought he did something until God struck him and his understanding and his reason left him.
• He became a wild animal of a man.
• Here’s the reality. Without God, we are all dumb as an ox.
• The proper attitude to maintain in order to walk with God is a broken and contrite heart.

Psalm 51:17 (ESV)
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

You Receive Nothing Because of Yourself

1 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)
7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

• Now, we are over into possessions and here is the question.
  • What do you have that you did not receive?
• The house you live in came from the Lord.
• People say “Yes but I worked hard to acquire it.”
• Yes, but who gave the strength to work hard? Who gave you air to breathe and the intelligence to know what to do?
• What about the possessions of those who are unsaved?

Matthew 5:45 (ESV)
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sunrise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

• God gave the unsaved rain.
• What does that mean? It means He had mercy on them.
• Everything you have, you received because God is good to you.
• Appreciate what you have. Quit gripping about what you don’t have.
• Instead of recognizing everything as a gift from God and being filled with gratitude, people possess their possessions.
• They see them as their own.  They look down on others who do not have what they have.
• All of which is pride and ungodliness and not what you are called to walk in.

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You Can Do Nothing by Yourself

John 15:5 (ESV)
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

• Spiritual life is dependence.
• Dependence means being led.
• Dependence means having no mind of your own.
• Dependence means willingness to do whatever He asks of you.
• The Greek phrase “you can do nothing” reads as a double negative.
  • Apart from me, you can do NOT NOTHING.
• Your example of this is Jesus himself.

John 5:19 (ESV)
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

John 5:30 (ESV)
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

• Summing up, here are the four truths that lead one to humility.
  • You are nothing in yourself.
  • You know nothing by yourself.
  • You receive nothing because of yourself.
  • You can do nothing by yourself.
• This can almost be depressing except for one vital truth. YOU ARE NOT BY YOURSELF.
• Here’s true reality.
  • You are nothing in yourself but you are everything in Him.
  • You know nothing by yourself but He is your wisdom.
  • You receive nothing because of yourself, but all things are yours. You have every spiritual blessing in heavenly in Christ.
  • You can do nothing by yourself but you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
• He is in you to help you so that you can know something.
• He is in to strengthen you so that you can do something.
• He is with you so that you can receive something.
• He sits on the throne so that in Him you are something.
• That’s reality my brother and sister. That’s real humility.

Call to Action:

Jesus is everything and everything we have and can do is because of Him. Having this proper view of yourself is actually quite liberating. How thankful we should be because of all that He has accomplished and willed for our lives. How glad and happy we should be in knowing that all though we are so limited He is all that we lack. Study these truths and meditate on them until they become real in your spirit man.

Question: How has the reality of humility transformed your everyday life? Please leave a comment in the comments section below.

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