Admit you don’t know

• I Corinthians 3:18
• Acts 8:26-39
  • Sometimes being in a position of authority can make us unwilling to admit ignorance.
  • The eunuch showed the benefit of admitting he didn’t know. He received salvation and went away rejoicing.
  • Philip showed humility in obeying God. Contrast this to Jonah’s response to God’s command.
• Luke 14:27

Skip a meal

• Skipping a meal reminds us that there are other things that are more important.
• Leviticus 16:29-30
• Activities associated with fasting:
  • Mourning for a calamity or loss of a loved one.
    • Mark 2:18
  • Prayer
    • Acts 14:23
  • Repentance – mourning for sins
    • Nehemiah 9:1
  • Study
  • Promote the cause of Christ, not self.
    • I Corinthians 6:4
• July 20, 1775 and May 17, 1776 – Day of public humiliation, fasting, and prayer.
  • See Forged in Faith by Rod Gragg.

Read the Bible for no reason

• … except to know God better.
• James 1:21-25
• I Peter 5:5 – Clothe yourself with humility.
• We need to look at ourselves.

Introduction

• Micah 4:4-6
• Elijah was one of the most powerful prophets ever to serve God.
• Matthew 17:10-13 – John the Baptist served in the spirit of Elijah.

The widow of Zarephath – I Kings 17

• I Kings 17:8-16 – This woman was at the edge of starvation, but God preserved her.
• I Kings 18:1
• A successful life may not include riches and honor.
• II Kings 2:11-12
• Genesis 5:5
• Only two people in the Bible did not die: Enoch and Elijah.
• Matthew 17:1-4
• If God didn’t like Elijah, He showed it in a strange way!
• Why did God allow Elijah to live in near poverty? Because God doesn’t look at success the same way.
• Luke 12:20 – Some of the greatest people in history didn’t have much money.

Mt. Carmel – I Kings 18

• Stand up for truth and fight sin.
• I Kings 18:17 – What a great victory for God!
• We may not have a public stage like Mt. Carmel, but we need to stand for truth in our lives.

Alone in a cave – I Kings 19

• I Kings 19:1-18
• Push through the hard times.
• When we get depressed, sometimes we need to get active.
• God showed Elijah that he was not alone. He reminded him of the facts.
• I Peter 5:6-7

Children (Romans 9-11), continued

• Romans 11:1-4 – Paul is reassuring them that God had not rejected Israel. It is Israel that had rejected God! Elijah felt alone in standing for God in I Kings 19:10-18, but God reminded him that God still had many followers left.
• Romans 11:5 – Despite being in the minority, there were still a remnant clinging to God in Paul’s day.
• Romans 11:6 – What sort of works are these? Works of merit – something we can do in order to be owed salvation (Romans 9:31; 4:4-8). It’s impossible for man to do such works. We need Jesus for salvation!
• Romans 11:7-10 – Got chose a certain type of people to be saved – the faithful. People themselves decide if they will be in that group. It is very easy for us to be prejudiced against God’s word so that when we see evidence that it is true, our heart is hardened instead of softened to faith. You must have the right information and the right attitude to be able to accept it. See also Isaiah 29:10; Psalms 69:22-23.
• Romans 11:11 – See Acts 13:44-47. The Jews were jealous of salvation coming to the Gentiles.
• Romans 11:12 – How much better would it be for the Jews to turn and believe in Jesus!
• Romans 11:13-15 – See Acts 9:15-16. How odd it must have been for Paul, a Jew of Jews, to go speak to Gentiles and see their conversion when the Jews rejected him. See Acts 14:27; 15:3, 12.
• Romans 11:16-18 – See Genesis 12:2-3; Romans 9:7-8. There was a physical part of this “tree” and a spiritual part. Gentiles can now be grafted into this tree in a spiritual way, enjoying the blessings that come from Christ. Paul warns the Jews not to have a bad attitude about this as though the blessings come from them. The blessings come from God!
• Romans 11:19-21 – Be careful with your attitude, Gentiles! Paul warns that they could be “broken off” as well if they fall into unbelief.
• Romans 11:22-24 – See Romans 2:4-6. If we are removed from the tree for unbelief, we can still come back to be grafted in again, whether Jew or Gentile. This passage also obliterates the arguments from Calvinists around unconditional election and perseverance of the saints. See also Galatians 3:26-29.

Introduction

• Class outline taken from Humility Practice by Jacob Hudgins.
• Humility is not something to check off a list. It requires continual improvement.

Questions

• How do we protect our relationship with God?
  • Isaiah 66:1-2
• How is God’s dislike for arrogance described?
  • Proverbs 6:16-19 – As an abomination!
• What is pride and haughty spirit preceding?
  • Proverbs 6:18-19
• How can we stay justified before God?
  • Luke 18:10-14
• When, where, and how are we supposed to be humble?
  • Luke 14:7-11
• What is one thing required to receive God’s grace?
  • I Peter 5:5 – Humility towards another.
• How is the absence of humility manifested in James 4:1-8?

Pride

• What is “sober judgment” and how does that help prevent pride?
  • Romans 12:3
• What do you have?
  • I Corinthians 4:6-7
• How do you see yourself? Are you a better person than most? Are you kinder, more patient, more loving, more giving?
• What speck have we noticed in our brother’s eye?
  • Matthew 7:3
• “I’m not like the others … I’m better.” Have we ever felt this way?
  • Matthew 26:33-35

Confess a sin

• Why do we blame others?
  • Aaron – Exodus 32:24
  • Adam – Genesis 3:12
• Why is it important to confess our sins?
  • I Kings 21:27-29
  • I John 1:8-10; James 5:16
• Why don’t we confess our sins to each other?

Pray for someone

• What interferes with us praying for others?

Introduction

• Matthew 19:17 – Was Jesus just a legalist?

If we think we’re saved by the law, we’re wrong.

• Romans 3:19-20 – The law made people aware of their sin.
• Romans 1:15-17
• Romans 5:1; 8:1 – Salvation comes through Christ. Not through law!
• Titus 3:4-7
• The New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant, not because it has better laws, but because it is founded on Jesus’ sacrifice.
• Salvation is not through works – it is through Jesus.

But if we think we don’t need to obey, we’re also wrong about that.

• Matthew 7:21; II Thessalonians 1:8
• “spiritual” – Galatians 6:1-2
  • Being spiritual involved obeying God’s laws and helping others do the same.
• “love” – James 2:8-13; Romans 13:8-10; I John 2:2-6; 5:2-3
  • Love is God’s way of summarizing His commands. It is not in opposition to obedience.
• “letter … spirit” – II Corinthians 3:5-18
  • Letter here refers to the Old Covenant. Spirit refers to the New Covenant. This is not referring to two different approaches to following the New Covenant.
• Pharisees – Matthew 15:3, 6; 23:3, 23-24
  • Jesus was not saying to not do the small things. He was teaching against hypocrisy. The Pharisees in their hypocrisy were failing to obey God’s law even though they outwardly proclaimed to be doing so.

Conclusion: Trust in Jesus with an obedient faith.

• Romans 3:21-24, 27-28
• Romans 6:17-18
• Hebrews 5:9