Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Galatians chapter 5 as we look at the solution to the problems we encounter in life. What are these problems? Let me give you just a few scenarios to set the stage for what we will be looking at this morning. Nancy Leigh DeMoss tells us in her book Surrender:
- Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Surrender, pp. 31-33
These and other battles we face are before us on a daily basis. We can’t seem to escape them, they are all around us and yet, there is truly a simple solution to these things. Now before I tell you the solution to life’s problems, let’s begin reading in Galatians chapter 5, starting in verse 16, and see what the Lord has for us this morning.
Paul is admonishing us to walk in the Spirit, continually walk in the Spirit, not just when you feel like it or because you are around other Christians. In fact, Paul uses the Greek word PERIPATEO (per-ee-pat-eh’-o) and it is in the present tense, which speaks of a continuous action, a habitual way of life. It should be very natural for Christians to walk in the Spirit; it should not be foreign to them. Think about it, do you think about breathing 24 hours a day? Of course you don’t, you just do it naturally, you don’t even think about it. The same should be true with our walk in this life, it should be lead by the Spirit and it should come naturally as we read God’s Word, as God uses others to speak to us about situations, as the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart and we are sensitive to His leading. The result of what God is doing in us by His Spirit is that we are becoming more like Jesus. If we refuse to walk in the Spirit, then we will not be like Jesus but the flesh nature and the works of the flesh will be manifested in our lives, and that is just plain ugly!
But why do we struggle so much in this life? Why do we have such a hard time walking in the Spirit? Why do we have these battles on a daily basis? Why do we struggle in our marriage relationship? Why do we struggle with people? Why do we struggle at work? Why do we struggle with our children? The answer may shock you; it truly shocked me when I sat down to think about it and yet, it does make sense. You see, what it all comes down to, what caused Lucifer to fall, is one simple and yet very destructive word that leads to very ugly actions on our part, PRIDE!
Pride, like it or not, agree with me or not, is at the heart of all of our problems. It may be that we violate someone else because of our pride or they violate us, but in either case, pride is the issue. And pride is an ugly monster that can be covered by us as we use Christian jargon; Christian words to justify our behavior, to cover up the heart of the issue. And pride is just an ugly monster that the more you feed it the more it grows and the more it grows the more it wants to be fed! Thus, God is trying to break us of pride and that only happens as we surrender ourselves to Him, humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord. You see, if pride is the root of all of our problems, which I believe it is, then humility is the source of all our blessings.
Some of you may be wondering what that has to do with our text this morning, and the reality is, this is the bottom line, who are you going to surrender to? It is, in a sense, a battle of the wills, the will of God for our lives and the will of man, what we desire to do! It is as Oswald Chambers tells us, “Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will; when that is done, all is done. There are very few crises in life; the great crisis is the surrender of the will.”
In the Old Testament, the word “to will” is ABHAH and it means “to breath after” or “to long for.” That is the issue, what are we longing for? What are we running after that just takes our breath away?
And thus, this morning we are going to be looking at our vertical axis in regards to humility or that which connects us with God, our relationship with Him. Also, next time we will look at our horizontal axis in regards to humility, which deals with how we treat our fellow man. You see, if your vertical axis is off, your relationship with God, then your horizontal axis or your relationship with man will be off. And if you horizontal axis is off, what man tries to do is fix his relationship with man, when the reality is, that will not happen until he gets his vertical axis fixed or his relationship with God!
1. VERTICAL AXIS – OUR RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD
The vertical axis determines our relationship with others or our horizontal axis. Thus, this vertical axis is very important, our relationship with God is vital if we are going to walk in the Spirit, obviously. You see, in humility we trust in the Lord, we rest in Him, we look to Him to guide our lives. Paul said in Galatians 5:16, 18 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh . . . But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” The idea is walking in the Spirit, being controlled by God, being lead by God.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is pride where we do it our way, there is an indifference to what God is saying. We have all been there and I have counseled enough people and shared with them what the Word of God says and they choose to ignore it because pride got in their way. They refused to humble themselves before the Lord, to bow before His Lordship and did it their own way! Yes, we as Christians have these battles in our lives, we can develop that kind of attitude before God and justify our behavior, our actions of doing things our way, but God will not accept it, and He will humble you. Again, Nancy Leigh DeMoss tells us from her book, Surrender:
You don’t want to surrender to God’s control? You won’t bow to His will in relation to your marriage, your morals, your attitudes, your tongue, your eating habits, your spending habits, or the way you spend your time? Then count on it – the very points on which you refuse to surrender will become “enemies” that rule over you – lust, greed, possessions, food, sloth, immorality, anger, etc.
- Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Surrender, p. 43
Sounds like the works of the flesh that Paul spoke of in this chapter and that is exactly right. If you are not lead by the Spirit then the fruit of the Spirit will not flow from your life but the works of the flesh will! A great example of this kind of attitude in the Scriptures is seen in the life of Jacob, whose name reflected his life, his nature. His name means supplanter, heel-catcher, conniver, schemer! That was the pattern of his life, he only looked to God, trusted in God when his back was up against the wall and then he put stipulations or conditions to it.
After he stole the birthright and the blessing of the firstborn from his brother Esau, he had to flee for his life because Esau wanted to kill him. So Jacob flees for his life to his uncle Laban’s house and on the way, we are told in Genesis 28:20-21, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.’”
Notice what Jacob is doing here, he is dealing, scheming with God. He is saying, “God, if you do this for me, then I will serve you and if you don’t, then I won’t!” People still do that today. “Lord, if you heal me of this cancer, I will serve you!” “Lord, if you heal my marriage, I will serve you!” And the list can go on, you can put in there any condition, but it won’t fly, that is just pride. Jacob was not humbled at this point, as we can see. Folks, God wants all of us, not just part of us or just not what we want to give Him and when we want to give it to Him. You see, God’s way is like this. He tells us, “Here’s a blank piece of paper. I want you to sign your name on the bottom line, hand it back to Me, and let Me fill in the details. Why? Because I am God; because I have bought you; because I am trustworthy; because you know how much I love you; because you live for My glory and not your own independent, self-promoting pleasure.”
For many, if not all of us, to sign a contract like that is risky, our lawyers would need to be involved. The reality is, if we respond like that, then we are refusing to place our lives into the hands of God, trusting in Him that He will see us through any situation we are in. The problem of not trusting God is that we relate to Him as a man, who is not trustworthy, who is not faithful, who always doesn’t do what is right. Because of that, we are afraid to trust God, to sign our life over to Him completely!
Folks, the only solution to that is to know the nature of God, understand who He is and His great love for us. Our God is not some impersonal force but a loving God who created us and because of our rebellion, our pride, sin entered the world and His love for us was so great that He sent His Son to pay in full the penalty for our sins so we might live with Him eternally! Jesus said in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Also, Paul tells us in Romans 8:31-32, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
God’s desire is for our best and that may mean some tough times as God is molding and shaping our lives. There may be times that are very difficult and you may begin to doubt God, not trust Him. Again, look to His Word that says in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Not only look to His Word, which is important, but also look back on the faithfulness of God as you were going through other situations to sustain you in the present situation you are going through!
Now back to our story of Jacob in Genesis chapter 32. After 20 years of service at his uncle Laban’s house Jacob is heading home with his wives, his 11 sons, Benjamin was not born yet, his servants and his animals or livestock that he accumulated over those 20 years. But Jacob is still concerned that his brother Esau still wants to bury the hatchet right into Jacob’s heart! The problem is that this time Jacob is not alone but has this huge caravan traveling with him and it is not only hard to miss them, but it would be hard for them to flee Esau and his men who might come after him.
So Jacob continues to scheme, to make plans on how to ease into this meeting with his brother, to soften him up a little and beginning in verse 22 of Genesis chapter 32 we are told, “And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked, saying, ‘Tell me Your name, I pray.’ And He said, ‘Why is it that you ask about My name?’ And He blessed him there. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: ‘For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.’ Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank.” Genesis 32:22-32.
As Jacob is all alone he has an encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ, an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. Now here is the pride in Jacob. He is wrestling with God, struggling, fighting with God all night long! Finally, after this all night battle with the Lord, the Lord touched the socket of his hip and crippled Jacob. Now that may seem cruel. Why did the Lord do that? Simply, God broke Jacob so He could no longer run from his problems but trust in the Lord. It would be hard for him to run from Esau with just one good leg!
In Hosea 12:3-4 we are told, “He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us.” Wait a minute, how did Jacob prevail against God? Some teach that it was by his strength, that he fought God until God finally blessed Him. Give me a break, that isn’t brokenness, that is just pride. And do you really think we can wrestle against God and win and even if we could, in the end we would lose! Then how did Jacob do it? Through tears and prayers Hosea tells us – he was broken before God, not only physically, but spiritually. And it is after this that God changes his name from Jacob, supplanter, heel-catcher, conniver, schemer to Israel or governed by God! It speaks of his new nature that was born out of a heart that was and is surrendered unto the Lord!
You see, no longer was he governed by his own will, his pride, but he surrendered his life to the Lord. He was not self-governed, but governed by God – Israel! His name now reflects the change in his character and God sometimes has to break us of our self-will so we will depend upon Him, that is His desire. Don’t fight against it, submit to it!
And Jacob’s encounter with Esau goes smoothly and after this we are told in Genesis 35:1-3, “Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.’ And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.’” God called Jacob back to Bethel where Jacob first had an encounter with God and this time Jacob did not put conditions to his serving the Lord, he put away those things that were hindering his relationship with God and what an important lesson for us to learn.
Don’t fight with God, learn to submit to His control, His will. Jesus said in Luke 14:11, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” If you want to stand in your prideful ways, not surrendering your life totally to God, then He will humble you as He did to Jacob. Again, this is done to break us of pride, self-will and cause us to become Israel – governed by God! You see, as we are broken, as we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up to the place He wants us to be! It is as Jonathan Edwards said, “I have been before God, and have given myself, all that I am and have, to God; so that I am not, in any respect, my own . . . I have given myself clear away, and have not retained anything as my own.”
Folks, it all comes down to perspective and a willingness to surrender our lives, wholly and totally to God. A. W. Tozer put it this way and I think we can relate to where he is coming from. He tells us in this prayer:
Father, I want to know thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
- A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
Folks, do you long after God and His will for your life? Do you run after God in such a way it just takes your breath away? Or are you longing after this or that? Are you running to this or that with God just being a second thought and His will for your life is on the back burner? Are you doing your own thing, as spiritual as it may be, or are you willing just to submit to God and trust in Him and do as He wills and not as you will? You see, here in America the problem is what we are taught. We are in control, we control our destiny, we do what we want, it is our right!
In Christianity that is a foreign thought. You see, He is in control of our lives, our destiny and our desire is to walk in the Spirit, be in tune to where the Spirit is leading us, our vertical axis or our relationship with God is seen as we humble ourselves before Him!
We opened up this study this morning with several difficult situations and I said that I would answer how they are to be dealt with and here it is. We are to humble ourselves before God, surrender to His will, get your vertical axis with God right and then your horizontal axis or how you relate to your fellow man will be right. Obviously we will not have time to deal with our horizontal axis this morning and so we will finish it up next time, because it is important and sadly, something that many Christians avoid and many churches don’t teach on because it cuts to the heart and people don’t like that, but it is what is needed. Hey, I didn’t like going for a colonoscopy, but because of colon cancer in my family, I had to have it. God wants us to have heart check-ups on a daily basis, we may not like it, it may be difficult, but may we do it!
As I close this morning let me share with you this story of a man who was willing to surrender his life totally to the Lord, no matter the cost. His humility is a great witness and should encourage us that if we walk in the Spirit we too can live a life of humility, no matter the cost. We are told:
In the 1924 Paris Olympics, a twenty-two-year-old Scottish athlete made headlines when he determined to say No to self and Yes to God. Eric Liddell made a decision that would have been unthinkable for most – to drop out of his best event, the hundred-yard dash, because the qualifying heats were being held on a Sunday. While his competitors were participating in the heats, Liddell was preaching a sermon at a near-by church.
Subsequently, Liddell entered himself in the 400-yard dash, a race for which he had not trained. He ran the race, finishing five yards ahead of his nearest competitor and setting a new world record. However, that Olympic gold medal, earned under such extraordinary circumstances, was far from Eric Liddell’s greatest accomplishment.
His obedience to God in Paris was just one of a lifelong series of surrenders that earned Eric the applause of heaven. After his Olympic triumph, he returned to China where he had been raised, to serve as a missionary. In 1943, he was interned in a Japanese concentration camp in China, where he continued to serve God and joyfully ministered to his fellow prisoners. While still in the camp, Liddell suffered a brain tumor that ravaged his body and left him partially paralyzed.
On February 21, 1945, Eric lay on a hospital bed, struggling to breathe and moving in and out of consciousness. Finally, he went into a convulsion; the nurse who had been by his side took him into her arms as he managed to breathe his final words: “Annie,” he said, his voice barely audible, “it’s complete surrender.”
Eric Liddell slipped into a coma and then into eternity, where the bondservant bowed the knee before the Master he loved so dearly and for whom he had labored so faithfully.
- Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Surrender, pp. 172-173
How did He do it? How, in the condition he was in say “Annie, it’s complete surrender.” Because it was his life, it is what he lived, it was what He breathed, total surrender to God and thus, the words he spoke came from a life that was surrendered to God, it was not a foreign concept to him.
Folks, may we be able to take a blank sheet of paper, sign it and give it to the Lord and be able to say to Him, “Lord, you fill it in, you know what is best for my life, I will follow wherever you lead! Lord, I trust in you, I believe in you, I lay my life down before you as your servant that you may use me for your glory and mold and shape my life to be like Jesus!” Folks, humble yourself before the Lord, get that vertical axis with God right, in line so that His will becomes your will and as you do, as Paul said, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh . . . But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:16, 18. It truly is a battle of the wills, let God’s will reign in your life and if you do, if you walk in the Spirit, then your horizontal axis or your relationship with your fellow man will be in line with what God desires, and we will deal more with that horizontal axis next time. Let me leave you with these words from James as he tells us to “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” The New Living Translation puts this verse this way in James, “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” James 4:10. May we do that, humble ourselves before God, surrender to His will for our lives! Walk, continually, habitually in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh!