12/06/2022
LESSON 2 12/6/2022
HUMILITY IS THE WAY OF THE GODLY
Suggested Hymns: G. H. B. 61, 69.
Devotional Reading. Ezek. 28:12-18
Topic For Adults: God Resists The Proud
Topic For Youths: Walk Humbly With God
Topic For Intermediates: Be Humble
Lesson Scriptures: Prov. 18:12; 16:18; Ps. 51:17, Isa. 66:2; 14:12-15; 1 Pet. 5:5. Jam. 4:5-7. Lk. 12:16-21; Phil. 2:5-11; Ezek. 28:12-17; Deut. 8:2-3
MEMORY VERSE
“Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility” (Proverbs 18:12) NKJV.
DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING
Mon. 6/6/2022 It Is A Matter Of The Heart Ps. 51:17, Isa. 66:2,1 Pet. 5:5
One of the marks of a Christian is brokenness. Today, there are many people in Christendom who claim to be Christians but are not broken. One of the requirements of the godly to walk acceptably with God is a broken and contrite heart. One of the reasons many are carnal and far from being spiritual is this issue of the heart. When the heart of man is not right, his whole life will not be right. This is the reason why many so-called Christians are arrogant, deceitful and unapproachable. In view of this, to receive the word of God and demonstrate practical Christianity will be difficult. A broken and contrite heart is a requirement for you to be godly, imbibe it.
Point of Emphasis: A broken and contrite heart is a necessity for you to be godly, imbibe it.
Prayer Point: Heavenly Father, bless me with a broken and contrite heart that trembles at Your word.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: Jam. 5:1 - 12; Evening: Isa. 4-6
Tue. 7/6/2022 Pride Goes Before A Fall Prov. 16:18; 18:12
An on-line dictionary defines pride as a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements. One of the most effective weapons in the hands of the devil to pull down anyone is this five-letter word – Pride. No matter how great and anointed a man or woman may be, no matter what great destiny a man or woman carries; pride can rob him or her of it in a short moment of time. If achievement or success to men can abhor those who arrogate themselves, how much more the Almighty God. The reason Lucifer became the devil was simply because of pride. Beware, pride is a killer and robber of destiny, flee from it.
Point of Emphasis: Beware of pride; it is a five-letter word that kills.
Prayer Point: Oh Lord, deliver me from pride and everything associated with it.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: Jam. 5:13 - 20; Evening: Isa. 7-9
Wed. 8/6/2022 God Resists The Proud Jam. 4:5-7
An on-line Dictionary defines “Resist” as “To fight against something or someone; to withstand, oppose, fend off, oppose actively…”. The Dictionary definition of pride is enough to show us how bad it is and how much a proud man is at loggerheads with his creator. When a man cannot be made to acknowledge his fault, tender his apology and ask for forgiveness; it is simply because of pride. When a man is full of himself, even those he calls his friends will be dealing with him at arm’s length. They will only be singing his praises, telling him words that he wants to hear and will not warn of the impending danger that they see looming at him. God looks at a proud man afar off but gives grace to the humble. Humility is not a sign of weakness or stupidity. God resists the proud, spiritual men also do.
Point of Emphasis: You cannot be proud and godly.
Prayer Point: Oh Lord, uproot every seed of pride in my life and give me the grace to be humble.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: 1 Pet.1:1-12; Evening: Isa. 10-12
Thur. 9/6/2022 What Do You Have Without God? Lk. 12:16-21
There are many reasons why people, including Christians, are proud. Some are proud because of their worldly attainments, background and opportunities. There is pride of place – where you are born, your nativity or the family into which you were born. There is pride of lace – the clothes you wear. The question you should answer is, “what do you have without God? Whatever is making you to arrogate, puff up yourself and look down on others is your enemy that must be jettisoned with immediate effect. The parable of the rich fool is a typical example we all should learn from. The people you are looking down on today may be privileged and exalted tomorrow. Remember, a proud man is an enemy of both God and man; don’t be one of them.
Point of Emphasis: Whatever you are and whatever you have is a privilege and gift from God, don’t boast of them.
Prayer Point: My blessings shall not turn me against God in Jesus’ name.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: 1 Pet.1:13-25 ; Evening: Isa.13-15
Fri. 10/6/2022 Follow Jesus’ Example Phil. 2:5-11
God demands that His children be humble and godly, and it is impossible to be godly without being humble. Pride is the easiest weapon in the hands of the devil to rob man of his life, destiny and star. After all, it was Lucifer’s undoing. The Lord Jesus gave us a great example of humility to follow. Jesus – He being equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The cross – which then was an emblem of shame and reproach, was the way by which His humility was displayed and through which He purchased our eternal salvation (Gal. 3:13). Many Christians today are selective of what work they can do in the Church simply because of pride. He did not arrogate power to Himself and God highly exalted Him and has given Him a name that is above every other name. Remember that the way up is down, before honour is humility and if you are too big to serve; then you are too small to lead.
Point of Emphasis: The Lord Jesus humbled Himself and was highly exalted by God, emulate Him.
Prayer Point: I receive the grace to make Jesus my example in all things in Jesus’ name.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: 1 Pet.2:1-12; Evening: Isa. 16-18
Sat. 11/6/2022 Learn From Lucifer Ezek. 28:12-17; Isa. 14:12-15
It is easy and possible for a man to become another thing far from what God created and meant for him to be when he is not walking worthy of his calling. The young Prophet in 1 Kings chapter 13 was a man endowed with the gifts, grace and anointing of a Prophet. In fact he was not named in the Bible because he was in the introductory part of his ministry. However, he was not able to maintain his ministry. He became history. Such is the case of many Christians today. They could not live up to God’s expectation and could not fulfill their God-ordained destiny because of one character flaw or the other. Pride was what led to the downfall of Lucifer and he became the devil and Satan for which he is known today. He fell from grace to grass. We are aware of God’s ultimate judgment waiting for him at the end of time. Learn from Satan and never allow pride or any iniquity to be your undoing.
Point of Emphasis: Satan fell from grace to grass because of pride; don’t be like him.
Prayer Point: I will not dabble into anything that will rob me of my destiny in Jesus’ name.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: 1 Pet.2:13-25; Evening: Isa. 19-21
Sun. 12/6/2022 Training In Humility Deut. 8:2-3
As children of God, there are various ways and means by which God teaches us. The Bible verses we read today confirm that whatever God permitted the Israelites to experience in their wilderness wanderings was a way of teaching them the virtue of humility. The wanderings, lack of suitable food and water all added to teach them to become what God planned for them to be. In like manner today, there are things, situations and circumstances that we undergo that God may be using to train us to be humble. For example, for Apostle Paul; it was a thorn in his flesh. We therefore need to beware and patiently wait on God in whatever situation so that we may not foolishly and ignorantly fail our spiritual examination.
Point of Emphasis: No promotion without examination, wait on God and don’t fail your spiritual examination.
Prayer Point: Oh Lord, grant me the grace to wait on You until Your purpose is accomplished in my life.
Reading The Bible Through in a Year: Morning: I Pet.3:1-12; Evening: Isa. 22-24
BACKGROUND
The Bible and our contemporary world are littered with examples of both men and women with great potentials, gifts and glorious destinies but who failed miserably and could not live to accomplish their divine purposes because of – PRIDE! There are many who started with all the support and backing of the Almighty God but who got side-tracked as their achievements and successes began to get into their heads. Many of such who have been abandoned and replaced by God are looking for the arms of flesh, to do the work of God. This lesson is meant to remind us the evil of pride and emphasise the blessedness of humility.
NOTES ON THE LESSON
PART 1: GODLINESS DEMANDS HUMILITY - PROVERB 15:33, 16:18, 18:12
The Merriam Webster on-line Dictionary defines pride in the following ways; “the quality of being proud: such as a feeling that you respect yourself and deserved to be respected by other people, a feeling that you are more important or better than other people; a feeling of happiness that you get when you do something good”. You cannot be proud and be godly. Pride is a feeling of self-importance that makes one to look down on others. A proud man will not give the necessary respect to those that are placed above him or those who are senior to him in age and experience. A proud man is always right, he wants to have the last say in every conversation and would impose his own ideas on others. One of the things that salvation should take away from you is pride. In the Church, there are men and women who are still enslaved by the spirit of pride which they explain away as peculiar to their tribe or town. When they display such vice therefore, they say it is an inborn thing, it is in their blood. Is it a fact that one of the benefits of salvation is a changed life and character? When a man maintains character traits peculiar to his place of origin or birth, it is a sign that such a man though converted is not yet broken. A broken man will submit all at the cross and his life will be rid of the adamic nature, pride, arrogance, stubbornness and the like that are traceable to their place of origin and birth. One of the tell-tale signs that a man is godly is humility. It is true that you cannot be proud and still resemble Christ. A child of God must consciously and deliberately work on himself to get rid of pride because it destroys.
PART 2: PRIDE IS A KILLER - EZEK. 28:12-15, ISA. 14:12-15; REV. 12:1-3
God did not create Lucifer as Satan in the beginning; however, his pride brought him down. The parable of the rich fool in the New Testament is exactly like what happened to Lucifer. He was beautifully created with wonderful precious stones. However, his fall came the day he began to puff up, desiring to be higher than his creator and maker. The rich fool died the day he also arrogated all his achievement to his personal prowess. Isaiah 14:12-15, Satan refers to himself with personal pronoun ‘I’ severally. The vocabulary of a proud man is always “I, me, my and mine”. Many people have forgotten their source and shifted their focus from God because of their worldly achievements. Pride has become an issue in the Church of God today because of what God permitted men to have. Below are some of the signs of pride to watch out for.
Seeing yourself as too good to perform certain tasks.
Looking down on others.
Inability to ask for help when you need it.
Talking too much about yourself.
Thinking that you are better than others.
Having a judgmental spirit towards others.
Fault finding.
Approval and praise seeking.
Inability to admit your mistakes and errors.
Inability to say sorry and mean it.
Unwillingness to accept constructive criticism.
Ingratitude.
Disregarding the advice of others.
Unwillingness to submit to authority.
Justifying your sin instead of admitting it.
Lucifer became Satan - the devil because of pride. Run from pride, it is a killer and robber of destiny.
PART 3: FOLLOW JESUS’ EXAMPLE - PHIL. 2:5-11
Jesus Christ gave us a perfect example of what humility really entails. Though He Himself being in the form of God and equal with God, but;
He made Himself of no reputation.
He took the form of a servant, not of a master.
He was made in the likeness of man and fashioned as a man.
He humbled Himself, and
He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to the world simply to carry out the commandment of His Father, pursued it until He accomplished it on the cruel Roman cross. He did not turn away from the will of His Father despite knowing the gravity of what He stood to face. He obeyed to the end. Jesus have both the power and authority over the ones using authority and power over Him. Yet, He maintained both His cool and silence. No wonder He was able to please God and accomplish His divine purpose. Believers should endeavour to emulate Jesus in all things. Christians obedient to constituted authorities and Biblical injunctions. Don’t be a bad example to others; emulate Christ who is both your Saviour and Master.
CONCLUSION
No matter the destiny a man carries, the anointing and how great a man is ordained to be, pride can ruin him in a day. Beware of pride, it kills, rather be humble.
QUESTIONS
1. What is pride?
2. Mention Biblical characters who failed God because of pride.
3. Give five signs of pride to watch out for.
4. In what ways are you displaying pride in your character today?
5. What can you deduce from this passage - Prov. 18:12 - “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty and before honour is humility” (NKJV).
Happy Sunday children of God
