On humility

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marc
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Re: On humility

Post by marc »

Humility and faith are more nearly allied in scripture than many know. See it in the life of Christ.
There are two cases in which He spoke of great faith. Had not the centurion, at whose faith He marveled,
saying, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel!" spoken, "I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof?" And had not the mother to whom He spoke, "O woman, great is they faith!" accepted the name of dog, and said, "Yea, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs?" It is the humility that brings a soul to be nothing before God, that also removes every hindrance to faith and makes it only fear lest it should dishonor Him by not trusting Him wholly.

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marc
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Re: On humility

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2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Lest Paul should exalt himself, by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was sent him to keep him humble. Paul's first desire was to have it removed, and he besought the Lord thrice that it might depart. The answer came that the trial was a blessing; that, in the weakness and humiliation it brought,
the grace and strength of the Lord could be the better manifested. Paul at once entered upon a new stage in his relation to the trial; instead of simply enduring it, he most gladly gloried in it; instead of asking for deliverance,
he took pleasure in it. He had learned that the place of humiliation is the place of blessing, of power, of joy.
Every Christian virtually passes through these two stages in his pursuit of humility. In the first he fears and flees and seeks deliverance from all that can humble him. He has not yet learned to seek humility at any cost.
He has accepted the command to be humble, and seeks to obey it, though only to find how utterly he fails.
He prays for humility, at times very earnestly; but in his secret heart he prays more, if not in word, then in wish,
to be kept from the very things that will make him humble. He is not yet so in love with humility as the beauty of the Lamb of God, and the joy of heaven, that he would sell all to procure it. In his pursuit of it, and his prayer for it, there is still somewhat of a sense of burden and bondage; to humble himself has not yet become the spontaneous expression of a life and a nature that is essentially humble. It has not yet become his joy and only pleasure. He cannot say, "Most gladly do I glory in weakness, I take pleasure in whatever humbles me."

drtanner
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Re: On humility

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Lots to work on, but grateful for good reminders like this of what is possible with grace and a willingness to submit.

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marc
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Re: On humility

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But can we hope to reach the stage in which this will be the case? Undoubtedly. And what will it be that brings us there? That which brought Paul there--a new revelation of the Lord Jesus. Nothing but the presence of God can reveal and expel self. A clearer insight was to be given to Paul into the deep truth that the presence of Jesus will banish every desire to seek anything in ourselves, and will make us delight in every humiliation that prepares us for His fuller manifestation. Our humiliations lead us, in the experience and the presence and power of Jesus, to choose humility as our highest blessing. Let us try to learn the lessons the story of Paul teaches us.
We may have advanced believers, eminent teachers, men of heavenly experiences, who have not yet fully learned the lesson of perfect humility, gladly glorying in weakness. We see this in Paul. The danger of exalting himself was coming very near. He knew not yet perfectly what it was to be nothing; to die, that Christ alone might live in him; to take pleasure in all that brought him low. It appears as if this were the highest lesson that he had to learn, full conformity to his Lord in that self-emptying where he gloried in weakness that God might be all.

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Red
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Re: On humility

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marc wrote: September 19th, 2017, 1:24 pm
ajax wrote: September 19th, 2017, 1:03 pm Again, I'm speaking generally (on the topic) and not specifically (about you).
I know. But if I should share anymore about the subject, it invites discussion, which in turn invites more cynicism. I'll just leave it be for now unless I read more that's worth sharing.
I was enjoying it, actually. Carry on.

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Red
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Re: On humility

Post by Red »

This is amazing. This is yet another day when I struggled and the Lord delivered to me exactly what I needed in my struggle! Thank you Marc and Jaredbees. Your timing was the Lord's timing.

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marc
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Re: On humility

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I have had this little book now for a month and of about 155 pages, I am barely on page 48. There is so much depth to it. The author, born to a Dutch missionary, was born in 1828 and lived in South Africa. He's written a few books, two of which are combined into this small work I am reading. This book was given to me as a gift and I am so glad to have it. Here's the link if anyone is interested in buying their own copy:

https://www.amazon.com/Humility-Absolut ... 1481277308

It contains two works: the first one is small, but powerful, "Humility" and the other one is "Absolute Surrender." I may share further personal insights on my blog. I am learning about the life of the Apostle Paul in a new light and it's quite a contrast from Jesus Christ's twelve disciples during His mortal ministry. I'll share one more paragraph, though:
The highest lesson a believer has to learn is humility. Oh that every Christian who seeks to advance in holiness may remember this well! There may be intense consecration, and fervent zeal and heavenly experience,
and yet, if it is not prevented by very special dealings of the Lord, there may be an unconscious self-exaltation with it all. Let us learn the lesson--the highest holiness is the deepest humility; and let us remember that comes not of itself, but only as it is made a matter of special dealing on the part of our faithful Lord and his faithful servant.

eddie
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Re: On humility

Post by eddie »

ajax wrote: September 19th, 2017, 12:13 pm
JaredBees wrote: September 19th, 2017, 12:01 pm
ajax wrote: September 19th, 2017, 11:49 am I have a pet peeve against self-flagellating humility.


We all have pet peeves / "stumbling stones of offense".
I actually consider it a gift.
Lol !

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Arenera
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Re: On humility

Post by Arenera »

marc wrote: September 26th, 2017, 3:14 pm I have had this little book now for a month and of about 155 pages, I am barely on page 48. There is so much depth to it. The author, born to a Dutch missionary, was born in 1828 and lived in South Africa. He's written a few books, two of which are combined into this small work I am reading. This book was given to me as a gift and I am so glad to have it. Here's the link if anyone is interested in buying their own copy:

https://www.amazon.com/Humility-Absolut ... 1481277308

It contains two works: the first one is small, but powerful, "Humility" and the other one is "Absolute Surrender." I may share further personal insights on my blog. I am learning about the life of the Apostle Paul in a new light and it's quite a contrast from Jesus Christ's twelve disciples during His mortal ministry. I'll share one more paragraph, though:
The highest lesson a believer has to learn is humility. Oh that every Christian who seeks to advance in holiness may remember this well! There may be intense consecration, and fervent zeal and heavenly experience,
and yet, if it is not prevented by very special dealings of the Lord, there may be an unconscious self-exaltation with it all. Let us learn the lesson--the highest holiness is the deepest humility; and let us remember that comes not of itself, but only as it is made a matter of special dealing on the part of our faithful Lord and his faithful servant.
I found your song!

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marc
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Re: On humility

Post by marc »

Beautiful, Arenera, thank you! I just realized your name is a palindrome. :)

drtanner
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Re: On humility

Post by drtanner »

"When we really contemplate God the Father and Christ the Son, who They are, and what They have accomplished on our behalf, it fills us with reverence, awe, gratitude, and humility."

"Sometimes humility is accepting callings when we do not feel adequate. … Sometimes humility is overcoming hurt feelings when we feel leaders or others have mistreated us."

"Humility isn’t some grand identifiable achievement or even overcoming some major challenge. It is a sign of spiritual strength. It is having the quiet confidence that day by day and hour by hour we can rely on the Lord, serve Him, and achieve His purposes." Elder Cook- today :)

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marc
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Re: On humility

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Red wrote: September 25th, 2017, 5:28 pm This is amazing. This is yet another day when I struggled and the Lord delivered to me exactly what I needed in my struggle! Thank you Marc and Jaredbees. Your timing was the Lord's timing.
BUMP.

I completely forgot about this little book. I was a little under halfway through when I must have become distracted with other books or other things. I will pick up where I left off. I recommend this book to anyone interested on the subject.

simpleton
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Re: On humility

Post by simpleton »

True humility is, IMO, the key to the whole matter of salvation and exaltation. " Unless we become like one of these" ( little children) we can in nowise inherit the Kingdom of God.
The shame of the world is an absolute necessary ingredient to overcoming ones self. But the vast majority of us cannot stand it. Hence our joining hands with Babylon and its vices. Pride in oneself is the absolute opposite of humility. To truly take upon us the name of Christ Jesus, we must endure the shame of the world. And that, I believe, is just about the whole crux of the matter. Losing oneself in the service of others naturally goes hand in hand with humility
Apostle Paul, with the little that we do have written about him was a giant of a man is his humility, yet also fearlessly engaged wholly in the cause of our Lord and Saviour. His complete turning around, along with Alma in the BofM are two astounding stories of the redemptive power of Christ. And the key was humility, their complete submission to Christ and of course their complete repentance which of course comes from humility, and acknowledging their nothingness.
Us and this nation, are lifted up in pride above all nations of the earth, and because of our lack of humility we are in trouble. So this topic, IMO, is of the greatest importance. But Babylon brands humility as a weakness that should be crushed. Look at our schools, our children are literally taught "pride" throughout.


“Now, in this world, mankind are naturally selfish, ambitious and striving to excel one above another; yet some are willing to build up others as well as themselves.”

“Let the Twelve and all Saints be willing to confess all their sins, and not keep back a part; and let [them] be humble, and not be exalted, and beware of pride, and not seek to excel one above another, but act for each other’s good, and pray for one another, and honor our brother or make honorable mention of his name, and not backbite and devour our brother.”

“If you will put away from your midst all evil speaking, backbiting, and ungenerous thoughts and feelings: humble yourselves, and cultivate every principle of virtue and love, then will the blessings of Jehovah rest upon you, and you will yet see good and glorious days; peace will be within your gates, and prosperity in your borders.”

Joseph Smith

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righteousrepublic
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Re: On humility

Post by righteousrepublic »

Humility is to not tear someone down for trying to express what humility is and trying to be humble about it. Humility is to let someone speak without ridicule, looking upon them as self righteous, being thrown at them.

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