mckaycaston.com - living all of life in light of the gospel
Tags


Filed under

humility

 
July 15, 2010
 

The Evil of Self-Confidence

This just in from my friend, Dave McCarty:

The devil wants me self-confident, not Jesus-confident. We self-confidents don't live as though we need Jesus, so prayer is not central to our daily life: we don't ask, and we don't thank, about everything. We assume or we willfully do.  Only we self-confidents have problems with idolatry. To have an idol, one has to lean on his own understanding to know what's best, so he can attempt to control the outcome. Only we self-confidents are worriers, are agendified, are willful, are prideful, are self-absorbed, are obsessive about being strong, and passionate about avoiding weakness, dependency.

Jesus-dependents, the un-confidents, are the meek, the humble, the prayerful, the loving, the self-forgetting, the relaxed, the funloving, the free, not afraid of failure, living with the kind of reckless abandon that enables humans to perform optimally.  Jesus-confidents are easy to love.   Hearts go out to them.

How do I move from being self-confident to Jesus-confident?  By God's Spirit, convicting me afresh of my self-reliance, so I run back to Jesus, confessing my sin of unbelief, receiving His welcoming embrace. Ahhh.

As Paul said in Philippians 3:3, "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh."  And in Galatians 6:14, "Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Filed under  //   dave mccarty   dependence   humility   self-confidence  

Comments [0]

June 7, 2010
 

True Humility • Phil. 2:1-11 (audio and outline)

(download)

Filed under  //   humility   philippians   sermons   teaching  

Comments [0]

April 19, 2010
 

"Grace Flows Downhill" • Luke 18:9-14 (audio sermon)

(download)

This is last night's message at Creekstone's Sunday night gathering. Thanks to everyone who helped set up, and to our worship team– wow. Also, please remember to pray for Kira as she awaits her biopsy results following last week's surgery. I love our community, and am grateful to be part of your lives.
- McKay

Filed under  //   grace   humility   sermons   teaching  

Comments [0]

October 21, 2009
 

This Is Impossible

Here is a quote from my friend Dave McCarty that gives hope to the Failure in me.

“If it's not humbling to follow Jesus, if you don't constantly feel like a failure at it, something is wrong in your understanding of the Bible, or yourself.   The Pharisees and Sadducees didn't feel like failures, and Jesus had the harshest things to say to them, of all people.  I remember some years ago, a new Christian in our home group, said one Wednesday night, after reading her Bible all week, 'This is impossible.'  I replied, 'Good, now you are beginning to understand.'"

Filed under  //   failure   gospel   grace   humility   legalism  

Comments [0]

September 29, 2009
 

Paul's Example of Downward Mobility

Justin Holcomb is the Academic Dean of Re:Train, and posted this helpful article on the Resurgence blog recently:

Paul refers to himself numerous times as worth "imitating" when it comes to spiritual growth and maturity (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; Phil. 3:17, 4:19; 1 Thess. 1:6; and 2 Thess. 3:7, 9).

What do we see when we look to Paul as an example? He makes three significant statements about himself throughout his years in ministry that are helpful insights into his view of spiritual growth.

The Least of the Apostles

Early in Paul's ministry, during his three missionary journeys, he wrote six major epistles: Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Romans. In one of them, Paul makes a very humble statement about himself—"I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor. 15:9).

Paul does not put himself on par with the other apostles, as if he were equal to them. Rather, he calls himself "the least of the apostles." That's a decent dose of humility worth noticing.

The Least of all the Saints

Toward the middle of his ministry, during his first Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote Philippians, Colossian, Philemon, and Ephesians. In Ephesians 3:8, his humility deepens—"I am the very least of all the saints."

Paul goes from "least of the apostles" to "least of all the saints." What's happening here?

The Foremost Sinner

At the end of his ministry and during his second Roman imprisonment, Paul writes Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy. Early in his first letter to Timothy, Paul writes: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Tim 1:15). Some translations say "chief of sinners."

Paul sounds like a spiritual failure, like he is regressing spiritually, not making spiritual progress.

Paul's Downward Mobility

Do you see the trajectory as Paul matures in faith? This is what happens when you boast in Christ alone. Your weakness becomes more evident. You can't help but make much of Christ and little of self. That is maturity according to Paul—boasting in nothing but Christ's grace and our weakness.

True Spiritual Growth

Paul isn't just using self-deprecating hyperbole as a teaching device. Each of the three statements about himself is surrounded by references to the cross (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Eph. 3:7-8; and 1 Tim. 1:15) and grace or mercy (1 Cor. 15:10; Eph. 3:2, 7; and 1 Tim. 1:13-14, 16). For him, spiritual growth is realizing how utterly dependent he is on Jesus' cross and mercy, not arriving at some point where he somehow needs the cross and mercy less.

Paul's view of himself diminishes and his dependence on Jesus' cross and grace increases. How do you talk about spiritual maturity? Imitating Paul's example, there should be more talk of the depth and scope of God's mercy, less talk of self-reliance, and an abiding fixation on Jesus' cross that secured God's grace for you.

Filed under  //   humility   paul   sanctification  

Comments [0]