Quotation: Psalms, 51:16-17
Isaiah, 57:15
Today I want to organize what are written about Modesty and Arrogance in the Holy Bible. In our daily life, we sometimes say, "He is a very humble and good man.", and "He is a little bit impertinent and arrogant." In these cases, Modesty and Arrogance are used to express a natural character, and personality. It means we have them since we were born and can't be changed. We often find a significant difference between blood related brothers. Sometimes, the environment changes his original character. A humble man, after occupying a high ranked, and honored position, being flattered, turned to be a quite arrogant man. On the other hand, we know those who were rather haughty turned to be quite gentle, experiencing a misventure in business, family disintegration, long term serious illness. Basically, the character is thought to be natural. For Christians, it is obvious that the modesty is preferred rather than the arrogance. But in this real world, things aren't so easy. For example, if a very humble man finds a new business, and passes it over to others, saying "OK, ok, Join the table.", "No worry, go ahead.", he will only gain a loss. We have to survive in a struggle for existence. It is how it is. However, the Holy Bible tells, the Modesty and Arrogance are the basic characters, which are central to the faith. Especially, the God takes pleasure in the modesty, obedience, broken and contrite heart, than burnt offerings, as written in the quotation. The Lord lives with someone who are contrite and lowly in spirit. He loves and guide them. On the contrary, how about those who are arrogant? The Holy Bible explicitly tells the arrogance is a character of Satan. The Lord won't be with arrogant people, but Satan will always be with them, and never be apart from them. Thus we have no other choice than changing our character, even if it is natural. The purpose of a faith is to be humble and to have a contrite heart, apart from arrogance. We now know that the Lord takes the most pleasure in our characters But, we are descendants of Adam, naturally. Satan tempted Adam and Eve, and they betrayed the God. Satan told to them, "If you eat from the tree of the knowledge, you will know good and evil.", "It's not a bad thing. He didn't say, `Never, ever eat it.`", and tried to make them eat it. Knowing good and evil belongs to the God. Men were made as an obedient creature to live by asking whether it is good or evil about anything around them. But after Satan's temptation, they thought they may be able to judge good or evil by themselves. They ate from the tree of the knowledge against His order, met with His anger, and they were driven away from the Garden of Eden. It means that knowing good and evil was synonymous with doing His job, and being the God. The Lord couldn't forgive their arrogance. We find an arrogance to being like the God was a serious sin, moreover just a character, as driving them away from the Garden. Detailed story is stored in the Chapter 3 of Genesis. In this way, Adam and Eve lost two things. One is a close fellowship with the God, and another is an eternal life. If they were in the Garden of Eden, the God could live always beside them, and talk to them directly and friendly, "How's going, Adam? Eve, is there something wrong with you?", it was an extreme wonderful fellowship for men. But, on the Earth, they couldn't see the God, they couldn't talk to Him face to face. This is one thing. Another thing is... they were prohibited from eating fruits of the tree of the knowledge, but not about fruits of the tree of life. If they had eaten from the tree of life, they and we could have had an eternal life. Originally, the God created human beings as creatures which can live forever. They were driven away from the Garden of Eden by their sin of arrogance, acting against the rules of the God, they can't eat fruits of the tree of life any more, because the tree is only in the Garden of Eden. They lost an eternal life. Thus, we know they lost two important things. In the Holy Bible, the mysterious story is written, the same incident happened among the archangels, tens of thousands years ago. In the Book, Satan appears sometimes, but the direct description about Satan is seldom, just in Isaiah and Revelation. Isaiah, 14:12-15
Among the archangels, there was great one, named Lucifer, who was wise and handsome, and with tremendous power. He was called the archangel of archangels. But he became arrogant rapidly by being flattered by others. At last, he said, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God.", this means "I will be like the God." "I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain." The mount of assembly is a place, all believe, where the God lives. "I will ascend above the tops of the clouds." This is also the throne for the Lord. "I will make myself like the Most High." At the very moment he thought, "I will be like the God.", he just thought of it, he was brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. It is supposed the archangel Lucifer was driven away from the Heaven, fallen onto the ground, turned to be Satan. The number 1 among the archangel, who was called a morning star, thought it is about time for me to be the God, I have done a lot of work, and I am popular. But the God didn't forgive his arrogance. Now we know the arrogance is really serious sin. We can't leave it untouched as a natural personality, or character. Then, can we, descendants of Adam, leave away from the arrogance? The Holy Bible tells distinctly we can. How? The answer is, in the Cross of Jesus. His Cross is the very center of the core of the Holy Bible. The First: The child of the God, Jesus came down onto the ground to save men. The Second: He died on the cross for each one of us, to redeem our sin. The Third: He resurrected three days later, and conquered the death, and promised that an eternal life, once we lost by sins of Adam and Eve is recovered. Jesus showed an example through His life that we can keep away from an arrogance by the faith to believe the Cross of Jesus. His life was an example of obedience, and a life of those who are apart from an arrogance. Thus, I want to look at His life. He always said, "What I'm doing is what The Father thinks. My Father does it for me." In John, he stored His words in detail. John, 5:19
John, 5:30
John, 6:38
What Jesus does is done by The Father in the Heaven. What Jesus says is given by The Father. "My government is His government." That is, Jesus does nothing, but The Father does all. Let me read some more words. John, 8:28
John, 14:10
Jesus says, teaches, moves all according directly to the order by The Father in the Heaven. He does nothing by Himself. We know He is perfectly nothing. Because Jesus is nothing, the Father in the Heaven could perform a miracle. He healed a lot of patients, and performed many kinds of miracles, but in anytime He said, "Your faith has healed you.", "Because your faith is outstanding, The Father in the Heaven was delighted at it, and healed your disease. It's not my accomplishment." He never said, "I did it." Let's see some examples. A story about a woman suffered with bleeding for long time. Mark, 5:25-34
This woman had a belief for her life that he who can heal her serious illness is no one but Jesus. If I only touch His cloth, I will be healed. So, she came near to Jesus by pushing other people aside, touched His cloak. At that very moment, her twelve years illness vanished away. Jesus realized someone took His power, and turned around to find who took it. The woman was reconciled to keep a secret against the God. She said, "I did it." But Jesus said, "Your faith has healed you. The Father in the Heaven was delighted at your outstanding faith, and healed your illness." The last words show His graciousness. Not getting angry at it, but He gave tender words to her. We find the same pattern against a blind man, Bartimaeus. Mark, 10:46-47
Mark, 10:51-52
At first Bartimaeus shouted, "Son of David, Jesus" It shows he had a confidence Jesus is a Son of the God, and it is only Him who can make my naturally blind eyes open. Thus he asked to give him an ability to see. Jesus saw his ironlike faith and said, "Go and see, now you can see. Your faith has healed you." He said the same words as before. Even Jesus, who is a Son of the God, could perform miracles only when He makes Himself nothing, and The Father in the Heaven does it for Him. This is the origin of the modesty and obedience. The Lord start His action when we make ourselves nothing, deny ourselves perfectly, understand we can't do anything by our own ability, effort, recognize we can't solve given problems. While we have even a slight expectation that we can do it, He doesn't move. Within our body our ego and the Holy Spirit lives together. But we are always filled with our ego, "I want to do that, and this. I can, not others." While we are filled with our ego, the Holy Spirit has a good rest in a corner. But when we are at the midst of a difficult trial, and pray as, "Oh Jesus, please help me!", there's no ego within us. (Side A -> Side B) We were saved getting down on our knees through experience that our prays were fulfilled. Without these experiences, we can't believe in the God, even if we read many books, and being persuaded. We experience miracles those we can't imagine are made happen, when we make ourselves nothing, and pray them to the Lord. While we think we will do it, or I will do it, the Holy Spirit doesn't start working. The Holy Spirit given into ourselves will remain within us until we die. But, it depends on our status if He can work a lot or not. That is, when we make ourselves nothing, the Holy Spirit wakes up and start working, performs many miracles. We often hear, "I wonder why my prays are not fulfilled.", "Why doesn't the Holy Spirit come down to me yet?" The answer is, "It's not true." The Holy Spirit is already given when you believed the Cross of Jesus. But your ego is too strong that He has to take a rest. If you want Him to work, you have to minimize your ego. If you can't do it, you do nothing but pray for it. Paul spent a very modest life too. He was one of the top scholar on the Holy Bible, and very passionate. Even after his turn, and while he was preaching the faith to Jesus Christ as the great apostle, he said incredible things in anger. But we know he was born again into really modest character. 1 Timothy, 1:15
Romans, 7:18-19
Romans, 7:24-25
The great apostle, Paul called himself as the worst among sinners. He shouted, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" No one other than Jesus could change Paul to be so modest, who had unyielding personality, and arrested one and all Christians, cast them in prison. During his work as an evangelist, he was persecuted again and again. He knew Jesus will be delighted at a persecution, attach, laughing at, neglect, because of preaching Jesus. He not only bore with it, but also he expressed his appreciation to the God. He was changed to be such a modest man. Can we learn such a modesty? At a glance, we think it is totally impossible for us to be like Jesus and Paul. Then do we give up? No!. The mission for all Christians is to pray for being apart from an arrogance, and walking on the way of modesty. We can't definitely do it by ourselves. But Jesus continually makes us change to be like the God. Jesus promised it. As Brother Beck always says, "Jesus is not a liar." For Jesus declared in the Holy Bible, "I will make you like the God.", He necessarily does it. We find it is true, if we compare how we are with how we were couple of years ago, ten years ago. We now do what we could never do before we were saved. Indeed, our progress is slow, and we wonder if we can be modest like them, but we actually pray for those whom we don't like much, and sometimes stand against. We pray for complete strangers for our lives. We have never imagined to pray for them before we was saved. Moreover, even a character is changed year by year. Not much can be found in me, but I find a lot when I look around in detail. New comers in the fellowship usually sit at the rear of the church, stare with a stern look. Gradually they sit at the center, and then front, and pray in a worship, at last they act as host. Looking at them, we find they were changed not by their own efforts, talents, but by His power. We see a lot of evidence people can be changed so much, that we are not altogether hopeless. It will last after we enter the Heaven, so, if we meet again hundred years later, we may look like to Jesus so much that we may say, "A man who passed by is a brother or Jesus?" I would like to walk on my road of faith, with a hope, helping each other, and of course praying each other, so as to be like this. Thanks for your listening. |