God Commends the Humble - 2 Corinthians 10:17-18

"God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble." Family Discussion:

• What is it that makes people so arrogant towards God and yet so proud towards ourselves?
• Why does God humble the proud and give grace to the humble?
• What does it mean to be approved by God?

Transcription:

00:04 Today I want to tell you about the funniest magazine article I ever read in my life; it's unbelievable. Second Corinthians chapter 10, verse 17 and 18 has a lot to say about that magazine article and it says this: "but let him who boasts, boast in the Lord for it is not the one who commends himself who is approved with the one whom the Lord commends."

00:38 When Newsweek magazine, in this survey, asked thousands of Americans who would be most likely to get to heaven, the person who came in second was Mother Teresa with 78%. Not a surprise. Billy Graham came in third, and a great athlete came in close to the top. The president of the United States and the first lady were not far behind, but the winner, with a whopping 87% of those surveyed agreed that the person who most deserved to get to heaven was ole number one; that's right, self won the prize. Most people thought themselves to be the most likely to be approved and to get to heaven than any other person of faith in the entire century. That's unbelievable. Does that sound funny to you? Yet, the majority of us across the country don't think there's anything wrong with a leader in our country who cheats on his wife. Most people don't even think there's anything wrong with attending R rated movies or other movies where God's name is profaned repeatedly throughout the movie and sexual pornographic scenes are abundant.

01:59 According to Newsweek magazine, they're saying about 66% of our high school friends are having sex before their 18th birthday. And according to the New York Times, over 50% of married men will have sex after they're married with someone other than their wife. Yet alas, in our smugness, we still feel that good ole number one is the most likely person to go to heaven. Well, as the expression goes among my native Ozark hillbilly friends, they say, "don't count your chickens before they're hatched." It's God who approves or disapproves and scripture is clear that only through a sincere commitment to Christ through faith in His crucifixion and his resurrection, does anyone received that majestic divine utterance, "Well done now, good and faithful servant." Man, it's true. God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. James Chapter 4 says, "humble yourself in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you." A true believer in Christ will find himself on his knees more than he'll find himself on top of the victory block going, "I'm number one. I'm number one. I'm number one."

03:20 So here's the questions today. What is it that makes people so arrogant towards God and yet so proud towards ourselves? And then secondly, why does God humble the proud and give grace to the humble? And then, and then thirdly, what does it mean to be approved by God? And then just a little lifeline to take it home. You know, think about this today; in the home, we can echo that same approval that God gives us to our family members around our dining room table.