“Stay Humble, Stay Grateful pt. 2”

Pastor Jim Lowe III

Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 11/16/25 (3rd Sunday Message)

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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}

 

Message Title:

“Stay Humble, Stay Grateful pt. 2”

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

Let’s look at the type of humility we’re supposed to have.

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.

We talked about Uzziah last week. Let’s re-talk about Nebuchadnezzar.

In Daniel 4…this passage is written by King Nebuchadnezzar. he was the king who was the most powerful of his time. he went in and conquered Jerusalem.

he took captives away.

including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego he destroyed the temple

burned the city

and had the Jews exiled to Babylon.

Daniel 3 - He is the king who built the statue and demanded worship. this is the firefly furnace.

he SAW the power of the Lord in the furnace.

Daniel 4 - He was at home in his palace

Daniel 4:4-5

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me.

He had a dream that made him afraid.

He commands all the wise men come and interpret it for him. all the magicians, fortune tellers, astrologers showed up.

He told them the dream…but they didn’t know what it meant.

- the dream has upset the king…so he must know what it means.

Daniel shows up later.

the King tells Daniel the dream.

The bible says Daniel is shaken and scared to speak. Daniel tells him what it means in v24.

Daniel 4:24-26

24 “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.

You will be driven away from everyone. you will live with the wild animals.

after 7 years he would be brought back AFTER he acknowledged God. and humbled himself.

Daniel tells him in verse 27.

Verse 27

27 Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”

This makes sense…because if you HEAR this is coming. maybe you can turn away now…while you have time.

This was because Nebuchadnezzar by this point had seen MULTIPLE miracles. he had even seen the 4th man in the fire…

which HE claimed was the son of the Gods!

After time…He has to start being held accountable

for his pride and ego.

You can’t keep seeing these things… seeing the power of the Lord…

and still think YOUR way is better!

 

The Lord Gives Multiple Chances For Us To Get Right!

All he needed to do was to acknowledge the Lord. to lower his ego and humble himself.

All we know is what happens a year later.

Daniel 4:29-30

29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

It might had taken a moment…

but he fell right back into what he used to do.

All he had to do was check his ego.

Uzziah continued to have great success as long as he sought the Lord.

Nebuchadnezzar would have had continued success if he would only acknowledge our Lord. instead he had to have an example made out of him.

because he’s saying the wrong thing.

Verse 31-32

31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.” 33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

Saul had to learn to get rid of his ego. How do we know he still had his ego? The things he said…

the words he spoke.

 

His Words Gave The Glory To Himself, Not To The Lord!

When we look at him…

we have to ask ourselves do we have an ego also?

Romans 12:3 - Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,

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

you’re not focusing on him.

 

How Do We Check To See If We’re Living With Biblical Humility?

One of our study groups on Wednesday took a True Humility Test. Here were some of the things it asked:

• Do You Feel Joy When Others Are Honored?

• Do You Honestly And Openly Admit Sin?

• Do You Seek Truth From Others Regarding Your Weaknesses?

• Do You Accept Criticism Graciously?

• Do You Turn All Worry, Anxiety And Concern Over To The Lord?

• Do You Respond With Humility When You Have Been Replaced?

• Do You Pursue Godliness In All That You Do?

The idea was to be honest and answer the questions… If you can answer yes to most of the questions…

be careful…

you likely failed the test.

and we still have more work to do.

We might not have the same ego as Nebuchadnezzar or Uzziah… but we’re still thinking of us way too much.

Proverbs 16:18 (a)

18 Pride goes before destruction…

We have to be careful we’re not considering ourselves so much… that we aren’t considering him.

Remember the truth we found last week.

 

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??

How Often Do We Thank The Lord For His Goodness To 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?

Last week we read Psalm 96:4

Psalm 100:5

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

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

his love endures forever!

Last week we looked at a reason to be grateful. He forgave us of our sins.

Today we’ll share another one. Why should we be grateful?

 

{Stay Humble, Stay Grateful:}

He Keeps Us When We Can’t Keep Ourselves!

Jude 24-25

24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

We see he is able to keep us from falling.

 

He Is Able To Keep Us

There’s nothing like having a God who can hold you. especially when you can’t hold yourself.

We talked earlier about Daniel.

this man was known for his relationship with the Lord. he’d pray 3 times a day in his upstairs room.

there were people jealous of Daniel’s relationship with the king. they tricked the king into a law

that put him in the lion’s den.

The Lion’s Den was death.

it was a form of execution similar to the furnace.

These lions had ZERO problem eating people.

Daniel was already old and “aged.”

he couldn’t put up a fight at all… especially for the whole night.

They went the next day to check on Daniel.

they open the lid on the den…there was Daniel with the lions.

The king asked what happened…

Daniel 6:22

22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.”

They took Daniel out of the den… NO wounds were on him.

Daniel had ZERO chance of defending himself… yet even in the eye of certain death.

The Lord sent his angels to keep him.

 

Let Us Thank The Lord For Keeping Us In Spite Of Ourselves!

But he did this for more than just Daniel.

He did it for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace. they couldn’t protect themselves in the furnace.

but they were saved and NOT a scratch on them!

But it wasn’t JUST them…

Even when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. all this changing of the mind Pharaoh did…

he decides to go chase and go get them. they were led by the Lord to a dead end.

But although Israel didn’t know what to do… the Lord was keeping them.

Exodus 14:10-11

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

Israel was convinced that Pharaoh was coming to kill them. They didn’t know what to do

They were trapped.

they had in immovable object in front. they had Pharaoh and his army behind.

Moses responds to them.

Exodus 14:13-14

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Moses responds saying don’t be afraid! Just watch!

the Lord is keeping us! He never stopped! The Lord will fight for you…just wait!

But the Lord responds!

Exodus 14:15-16

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

The Lord is saying…stop talking… start moving.

Know the Lord is doing his job!

He is keeping you!

There may be times when you don’t know what to do! But the Lord didn’t stop watching over you today.

He’s keeping you JUST like he did yesterday!

 

Humility Is Knowing The Lord Is Keeping You At All Times! Gratitude Is Thanking Him For All The Things He Did You Didn’t Even Know About!

Here’s the last scripture. Homework: Read Psalm 121. It’s EIGHT verses.

Psalm 121:1-8

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the recap:

 

The Lord Does Not Want Us To Be Ungrateful

We have to develop a greater spirit of humility.

We have to check our egos…

because we can do nothing on our own.

How do we plan for the future when we can’t see 5 minutes from now? We do it with the HOPE he will keep us.

It’s with HIS help…not ours.

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?

For keeping us

He keeps us when we can’t keep ourselves.

 

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. And read Psalm 121:1-8

Come to our Study groups… We’re learning to drop our egos…

to give more room for him.