Welcome to Sunday Fuel! This series of questions is designed to assist your personal reflection and fellowship with others about the sermon from this past Sunday.
1. Think of a relationship where it is difficult to respond humbly, patiently and generously with others: perhaps with spouse, children, parents, in-laws, exes, friends, bosses, co-workers, customers. Or perhaps it is a situation where you are tempted to act pridefully or avoid dealing with the sacrifice or suffering involved in loving others.
What reasons do you give for your resistance—unwillingness, fairness, doubt in God’s wisdom…?
2. If you are struggling with following Christ down the path of humility, consider the prayer prompts Pastor Kim suggested as a pathway to draw near to God. How might these help you humbly draw near to Him? Pick what is appropriate to you as a prayer starter before the Lord.
“Lord, You are God, and I am not… so if you have called me to humility then I will pursue humility by grace”
- Take a step of faith and draw near to God. Reflect on the fact that God is worthy of the service he calls from us.
- Confess where you have elevated yourself—thinking negative thoughts about yourself centered on your failures, any internal resistance or outward rebellion. Pray that He will help you not think of yourself at all.
- Instead, draw near with a submissive, repentant, and mournful heart in regards to your sin.
“Lord, thank you that Jesus chose humility and didn’t leave me in my sins… help me to be humble like him”
- Think on Christ’s teaching and example (Mark 9:35, John 13:1-20), not only in persevering through his suffering but in looking in faith and joy to the exaltation beyond it (Heb. 12:2). Consider what He has done for you—his love and care for you though we deserve punishment and death.
- Honestly count the cost: what will it cost you to love and suffer well? Then think about the promise in Phil. 3:10-11.
- Reflect on how God “hyper-exalts” Christ, officially recognizing Him as the one true God and Lord of all. Think about how He is now ruling over all.
- Will you turn to Him and faith and trust, humbling yourself before God and committing yourself to Him?
“Thank you for your great wisdom and love… because it means I can trust that if you call me to humility it is right and good… You never ask me to do anything that is not best for me.”
- God’s wisdom is that exaltation comes after our humiliation—it was true for Christ and it is true for us. The struggle to be humble is really a struggle to trust God. Trust that God will be faithful and that he will make everything right. If He exalted Christ, will he not also exalt us as well?
“Thank you that when the time is right, you will exalt me… that humiliation is never the end of the story… but you have something greater and more beautiful in store for me…”
- There is an expiration date on your humiliation. When the time is right—even if it is not until eternity, it will end. How does this help you grow in confidence to bear with your humbling situation and keep the joy set before you?
- How will you fight to hold on to this promise as you practice humility before others—by lowering yourself, persevering in lowly servant tasks, refraining from exalting yourself by impressing others?
- Pray that God will help you “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” trusting that it “it is God who works in you” for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12b-13).
Resources:
J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life by Paul Miller
