“Stay Humble, Stay Grateful”

Pastor Jim Lowe III

Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 11/09/25 (2nd Sunday Message)

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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}

Message Title:

“Stay Humble, Stay Grateful”

This is a new series that combines the need for being humble… and how it leads to gratefulness.

Let’s look at the definition of humility.

Humility - the quality of having a modest view of one’s value or importance.

Modest meaning not over inflated.

not getting the big head of your value.

there’s another form of humility we’re gonna talk about for this series.

Biblical Humility - a mindset of honoring God and considering others above yourself.

Considering others greater than ourselves. This goes against our own egos.

Lack Of Ego Builds Humility. Lack of Humility Builds Ego.

Let’s see some stores of egos in the bible.

from the Summer Love Series this past July

We talked about how real love doesn’t boast.

Let’s re-talk about Uzziah.

2 Chronicles 26:3-5

3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.

As long as he submitted to the Lord. and not his own ego.

he is successful.

Verse 8(b)

and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.

His fame spread.

he became powerful…

But then…

NOT because of him…

but because of his humility.

don’t let yourself get the big head… Because when you focus on your own ego…

you’re not focusing on him.

Ego Says Look At Me. Humility Says Look At Him!

This is saying the more our ego decreases… the more our humility can increase.

because we are NOT looking at ourselves higher than we should.

We are submitting to the Lord seeking HIS guidance. because we are dependent on him.

Our Ego Builds A Throne For Us While Our Humility Builds An Altar For Him

It causes change that creates a shift in how we see things. when we look at scriptures that say:

John 15:5 - apart from me you can do nothing.

saying that without God we can’t do anything… but also looking at

Philippians 4:11 - I can do ALL things through Christ.

We see that it’s BECAUSE of him we can do all things.

Acts 17:28(a)

28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.

So because we have these things in Him… and we SEE the things we have.

And we think of:

James 1:17 - Every good and perfect gift is from above…

We begin to see and think differently.

True Humility Leads To Gratefulness!

When we begin to think of what the Lord has given us. he’s been a good God.

And when was the last time we stopped thinking of what else we can get… but thanking him for what we have??

Saying “Thank You” Is A Great Way To Show Gratitude For All The Lord Has Done For Us!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Be joyful always…

always pray.

always give thanks.

Always give thanks! Always be grateful!! Why?

Psalm 96:4

4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

Why should be be giving thanks? Because the Lord is great!

he is worthy of our praise!

Last year we talked about this.

we gave 13 reasons to give thanks.

I may reference some of those…

but go back and look them up.

it was part of the under construction series last year. But we’re gonna talk about staying humble and grateful this year.

we’ve talked about humility…

now let’s talk about what we can be grateful for.

{Stay Humble, Stay Grateful:}

We Are Forgiven Of Our Sins

At times we view this one differently.

Some of us look back and know we did some things…

some of us my know we shouldn’t be alive today because of some of it.

Others hear this and base it on the “weight system.” “i wasn’t that bad.”

“I was the quiet person in school.”

“I didn’t steal anything. I wasn’t with the other folks ‘living life.’” that is the Weight System -

“I wasn’t that bad and I don’t have that many sins to be forgiven.” “I know I wasn’t as bad as that other person…”

“I’m a sinner but I can name a million people worse than me.” Jesus talked about that.

Luke 18:9-12

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

Two men went to pray.

The Pharisee - the one who follows the law.

• they knew the word.

• they prayed

• they gave

• fasted…

On the outside they seemed to do things right…

but the insides needed work.

They could be considered the typical church person today.

• they know the word

• they pray

• they give

but the inside needs work This Pharisee here said….

I’m so glad I’m not like the robbers…the evil doers… the adulterers…or even this tax collector. “I’m better than them.”

But that very same tax collector prays.

Luke 18:13-14

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The tax collector doesn’t know the rules. he doesn’t look up to heaven.

he prob doesn’t know what he’s doing… but he begs with all his might.

“God have mercy on me…” “I am a sinner.

Jesus says that THAT person went home justified. Because they get it.

The Pharisee was wrong because

he thought all his good would cover the evil inside.

But the Lord doesn’t weigh sins… We are either guilty or not.

we are either sinners or not.

Not based on what YOU think is good… but in HIS eyes.

HIS word…HIS law…HIS will.

Comparing You Sins To Others Is Another Form Of Ego That Needs To Stop!

Because while we’re comparing…

we forget that we’re just as dirty.

Matthew 7:3 - looking at the speck of dust in someone’s eye…but we have a plank of wood in our own?

The truth is we’re ALL dirty.

Romans 3:23

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

No one is innocent.

And because we’re ALL sinners…

that’s enough to keep us from God.

but let’s see WHY this gives us cause to be grateful.

We’ve all sinned and fallen short…but there’s a reason to be grateful.

Romans 3:23-24

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely

by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We have been forgiven by Christ.

This salvation was a GIFT to people who NONE deserved to have it. This is why gratitude is necessary.

If I think someone owes me something…

I won’t be thankful for it because you “owe” it to me.

it was supposed to be mine from the beginning.

I might say thank you…

but I’m not grateful because it was mine anyway.

But if someone gave me a brand new car… totally paid for…for NO reason…

I’d be overwhelmed with gratitude.

If I got the car and find out there is still some payments left on it… I’d be grateful but not as much.

This is how we as people do.

Being in a sinful world teaches us to be naturally entitled to things. we are less grateful because we feel we are owed it.

or we didn’t understand the cost to begin with.

But the cost of forgiveness of sin was a sacrifice.

Humility Says We Who Were Nothing Without Him Because Everything Because Of Him!

Colossians 2:13-15 (NCV)

13 When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins.

When we were spiritually dead because of our sins.

ALL OF US.

Because we were not free from that sin. we were forgiven.

Verse 14-15:

14 He canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross. 15 God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless.

That line is so powerful…

he took EVERYTHING that tried to keep us from him… he took every rule..

every sin…

everyTHING. and nailed it to the cross.

This is God’s love for us!

that he would give us a gift we can’t pay back. for free…

Romans 5:8 (MSG)

But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

So the recap:

The Lord Does Not Want Us To Be Ungrateful

We have to develop a greater spirit of humility. Don’t think you’re all that.

We are nothing without him…

but we are everything because of him.

Always keep things in perspective… “Stay Humble, Stay Grateful”

When you know that everything you have is because of him… take some time to thank him more.

What do we thank him for?

The forgiveness of sin.

the ability to be redeemed from the law of sin and death. and what happened to that law?

it was nailed to the cross…

Gratitude Starts With A Humble Heart. Once You Remember Everything Is A Gift, That’s When Thanksgiving Follows

So this week…make an effort to thank God more.