Making Beautiful Music Together

Guiding Question

How can we cultivate true humility in our lives to experience God’s peace, grace, and blessing, especially when faced with the pressures of having things “our way”?

Summary

This sermon explores the struggle of pride and self-will, highlighting how trying to have life “our way” leads to weariness, conflict, and emptiness. It presents the biblical principle of humility as a solution, focusing on Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 5:5-7. The message unfolds the three-fold process for developing humility: bowing under God’s mighty hand, resting by casting our anxieties on Him, and expecting God’s blessing at the proper time. Through this process, believers learn to surrender control, trust God’s timing, and live in harmony with others and the Holy Spirit, leading to spiritual growth and unity.

Outline:

1. The Problem of Pride and Self-Will

   • The weariness of insisting on “my way”

   • How pride causes tension in personal and church relationships

   • The danger of a competitive, self-focused mindset

2. Peter’s Call to Humility (1 Peter 5:5-7)

   • Clothe yourself with humility of mind

   • Humility as cooperating with God’s will, not pushing our own

3. The Three-Fold Process of Humility

   • Bow: Submit your will to God’s plan and purpose

   • Rest: Cast all anxieties and worries on God because He cares

   • Expect: Trust in God’s perfect timing for blessing and exaltation

4. Living the Process

   • The struggle with “what if” fears after deciding to humble ourselves

   • God’s care and desire for us to respond rightly

   • The importance of patience and faith in God’s “proper time”

   • Illustration of the man who found someone to worry for him (God)

5. Encouragement and Invitation

   • God’s promise to exalt those who humble themselves

   • A call to surrender and experience true rest

   • Prayer for unity and love within the church

Key Takeaways

• Pride and insisting on having things “our way” leads to conflict, weariness, and spiritual emptiness.

• True humility involves a deliberate process: bowing our will to God, resting in His care by casting anxieties on Him, and expecting blessing at His appointed time.

• God cares deeply about our struggles and wants us to respond rightly, even when life is difficult.

• Trusting God’s timing requires faith and patience; blessings and changes may take time to appear.

• Humility fosters harmony in personal relationships and within the church, reflecting Christ’s character.

• Casting our worries on God frees us from burdens and empowers us to live peaceably and faithfully.

Scriptural References

• 1 Peter 5:5-7 — The core passage teaching humility: bowing under God’s mighty hand, casting anxieties on Him, and trusting His care.

• James 4:6 — “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (Implied in the sermon’s theme)

• Philippians 2:3-4 — Valuing others above ourselves, putting others’ needs before our own (supporting the humility and unity message)

• Matthew 11:28-30 — Jesus invites the weary to find rest in Him, echoing the rest theme.

• Proverbs 3:5-6 — Trust in the Lord and submit to His way, supporting the bowing process.

Recorded 11/23/80