Humility Follows God Like a Shadow

1st Peter 4:7-5:11

BIG IDEA:

Humility is at the heart of being a follower of Jesus...  Live humbly no matter how foreign that is to the world.

1.  God opposes the proud.  (5:5)

Psalm 10:4, In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

2.  God gives grace to the humble.  (5:5)

Romans 5:8-10, God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

3.  God exalts the humble.  (5:6)

Psalm 3:3, But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

• Pride consumes us with ourselves and keeps us from seeking God.

• "Humility is not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less."  (C.S. Lewis)

Pause:  Politics, health, crime, economics...  What worries you the most?

NEXT STEP:

Cast your anxieties on God.

Memory Verse: 

1st Peter 5:6-7, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.