Growing In Littleness (Philippians 2:3)

Introduction

As time passes, I become more and more reflective on where I’ve been. And it’s almost hard for me to even conceive that I began this work of preaching three and a half decades ago. And I remember guys that meant so much to me, who preached all across the land, men like Robert Jackson, and now the aging D. Bowman and Paul Earnhart. And I’d heard so much about Texas preachers. I guess that’s why I ended up here. I read the book way back in the 80s, J.D. Tant, Texas Preacher, so I had to figure out what this Texas preaching gig was all about and met men like Robert Turner, Jim Everett, and Dan Shipley. And I’ve said all of that to say I want to go back 40 years before I began preaching full time to an article that was written by Dan Shipley.

I don’t know that I ever heard Dan preach, but I played some golf with him. And his sons, I have come to know. Ben is one of my good friends. He’s one of the elders where Chris Emerson preaches in Lyndale, Texas. And it was Chris who actually posted this article very recently that Dan wrote 40 years ago called Growing in Littleness. You know I’m all about good titles. And apparently Dan was too. And this is one. You think about that, growing in littleness. Very clever thing that he did there. Then drew lessons from the life of King Saul. You might remember as things began to unravel, Samuel had these words to say for Saul to hear. Is it not true? Though you were little in your own eyes, you were made head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel.

In these words, Samuel is describing something that has occurred in the thinking of Saul that has not been positive from where he began. Remember when he was made king, and the selection came upon the family of Kish, of Benjamin, and then Saul himself. Once he was chosen to be the king, nobody could find him. He was missing in action. Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage. He realized the awesome nature of what he was being selected to do. Such noble beginnings for King Saul. He was little in his own eyes. But then we see things begin to unravel. When instead of faith, there was fear. And he took it upon himself and forced himself to offer the sacrifice that Samuel was supposed to make, because Samuel had been just slightly delayed.

And then Samuel’s, just like I heard my mom say, What have you done? Very rarely. What have you done?

And then the foolish vow of chapter 14 that nearly cost the life of his faithful son Jonathan. And then the issue with the Amalekites. When he was told to utterly destroy everything.

The lowing of oxen. Everything was supposed to be destroyed. And it’s on that occasion that these words were uttered. Saul, you have made a journey, and it has not been in the right direction.

What a contrast to what Aaron said about David. David’s, who am I? When Saul was little in his own eyes, God was big.

To the extent that he could be ignored, that he could be manipulated, and that self is all I need.

That is not the case.

1. Humility Comes Before Honor

I want to talk to you about being little in your own eyes, growing in littleness. There are so many words about humility in the Proverbs. I’ve chosen just a couple in Proverbs 15. In fact, one thing I like about Proverbs 15 is it has a wonderful amount of little nuggets about a lot of things. And I say the word nuggets, I immediately think of Chick-fil-A. I’m on Chick-fil-A today. Chick-fil-A nuggets, how good those are would be right now, but they’re closed on Sunday. Chick-fil-A nuggets. No, these are nuggets of an even greater value and benefit. Proverbs 15. The one who dwells among the wives, listens to life-giving reproof. The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom and humility comes before honor. Possessing the quality of humility.

Leads me to the story that Jesus tells in Luke chapter 14. And we’re going to start in verse 1 of Luke 14. And it came about when he went into the house of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread that they were watching him closely. As they were always wont to do, looking for some grounds of accusation against Jesus. And so he heals a man of dropsy, the text says. The modern term for that is edema, a condition characterized by watery fluid collecting in the cavities or tissues of the body. And he did so on the Sabbath. And he questions them, which one of you would not retrieve a son or an ox that had fallen into a well on the Sabbath day.

Then he tells the indicing parable of the invited guests. And he began speaking a parable, verse 7. To the invited guests, when he noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table. He’s just watching people seat themselves. When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor. Humility comes before honor, we read.

Here, you move down the road. Give place to this man. And then in disgrace, you proceed to occupy the last place. You see, the way you saw yourself sitting at the head of a table or the seat of honor was where you should have been. But because someone else more distinguished comes along, you’re moved all because the other seats have been filled, that’s the way that usually goes. So you’re moved down to the last place. So when you are invited, go and recline at the last place. Just go ahead and take your spot at the least desirable place or at the end of the ladder, at the end of the row, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, move up higher.

Then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. You see, you’ve not put yourself in that place. The one who has invited you moved you up. And then this conclusion is drawn. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Well, that’s it. That’s the sermon. Of course, I’m going to have a few more things to say, as I normally do. But that’s it. If you get anything else, the point Jesus makes in Luke 14 and verse 14 is the takeaway point of this lesson this morning. Everyone who exalts himself is humble.

2. The Recipe for Too Lofty Thoughts of Oneself

World, the illustration of these five chairs. We might want to put ourselves in the most extravagant chair instead of the most humble chair of the five. How do we see ourselves? Do we have too big of a conception of ourselves that may then cause us to not have a proper conception of how large God should be in our thinking? How do we get there? What happened to Saul? How does he go from being little in his own eyes to so much larger than that? And the problems that he then experienced that caused his rejection by the King of Kings. What is the recipe? And there is always a number of ingredients. Sometimes they actually go together. The recipe for two lofty thoughts of oneself. And certainly in relation to the king.

It was the power that he wielded. Nobody in Israel wielded power like King Saul. And so often that is a part of the recipe. We see ourselves as someone important because of our position, our place. We’re the boss. We’re the elder. We’re the preacher. After all, I’m standing on a platform that’s that’s a foot above the floor. And so we have these lofty views of ourselves because of the power that we may wield, the influence that we wield, or even in regard to the things that we have. And both of these might have played a part in Saul’s getting, as we would say, too big for his bridges. He’s got stuff. He’s the king.

So many people, their estimate of themselves is tied largely to the things that they have. The affluence that is illustrated by our bank account, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the neighborhoods we live in, and that makes us better. Or maybe how smart we think we.

It’s not about intelligence in the way that we measure it. And the fact is, no matter how smart Saul was compared to others, he wasn’t really smart spiritually. The one doesn’t necessarily equate to the other. Another thing that tends to create too lofty thoughts of ourselves is that when other people are telling us how wonderful we are, you’re incredible. And of course, everybody was telling the king how wonderful he is. You wouldn’t dare do the other. You get to do that in regard to our country. There’s a lot of people who have negative things to say about our president. They’re very loud about that. But I would say in first century times, you didn’t do that publicly about the king. And so often we begin believing the press about ourselves.

When others tell us how wonderful we are. Some people get carried away by the ethnicity that they are. Like a certain skin color makes you better than someone else. Or even gender.

3. Life Here Is Not a Permanent Condition

There’s not a third option there, people. 50-50, male and female created he them. But some might think they are superior because of either one or the other. And then there’s the spiritual angle in all of this. One can get carried away with himself or herself on the basis of spiritual achievement. What I know and understand about the Bible or how I’m able to communicate it with others. The recipe for too lofty thoughts. Let me offer some reminders in the midst of your accomplishments, whatever they may be in this world. May I suggest that regardless of the splash that you make, regardless of the way others perceive you and praise you and magnify you and exalt you and look at you may be the most wonderful thing since chips and sauce.

However great people imagine you to be, or however great you think of yourself. Here is a guy who is king over a powerful and growing empire that will reach its zenith during the days of Solomon. But his time was temporary. And like the preachers who I respected in my early years, who have gone to their reward. And like me.

4. The Standard for Measurement Is Not Other Men

For he himself is mindful of our frame that we are but dust. I love Psalm 103, a psalm about total praise and how we should forget none of his benefits. He redeems us from the pit. All the things God does, he removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west from us. He does not deal with us according to our guilt. God has done so many wonderful things for us in the midst of that. He knows our frame. He is mindful that we are but dust. Life here is not a permanent condition. So whatever you have become, however, others regard you, whatever they think and say about you, no matter what you think of yourself, your time here is quite temporary. And the second thing that you need to think of in the midst of life’s accomplishment is that the standard for measurement is not other men.

So often in these evaluations of ourselves, it’s how we see ourselves in relation to others. The standard is not what other people achieve or don’t achieve and what I achieve. The standard is God.

Incredible stunts as they get all of that air, they get all the way up there and see some terrible. Those people that do the skeletons, did you see anything of that? Those people are crazy. What if you fall off that sled? It could be curtains. I thought about researching how many people died doing skeletons. No wonder they call it skeletons. But we look at those achievements and how impressive all of that is. The Americans haven’t had that many impressive achievements. Norway is owning the thing. Okay. So we look at that kind of athletic achievement. What about the achievements of the Apostle Paul?

The achievements of the Apostle Paul. From the standpoint of God’s history, is even greater. When I think of the extraordinary things that Paul, has there ever been anyone who accomplished so much in God’s kingdom than the Apostle Paul? I mean, think about that. To me, I would say Paul knew no rival, but Paul never got carried away with that. And I realized in part that it’s because of his past that he had persecuted Christians. And thus he would see himself as the chief of sinners, according to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 15. He didn’t see himself as all that in a bag of chips. But whenever we see ourselves like that, we could measure ourselves against the Apostle Paul.

But even he is not the standard. And he did not see himself as the standard, but Christ as the standard. Men who compare themselves against others. Deceive themselves. We do not preach ourselves. Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, but Jesus as Lord and ourselves as bond servants for his sake. We have this treasure and earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves. What we accomplish, if we want to get carried away with what we are, because we know the truth, and because we’re in Christ, and we’re able to do these things because we know more about the Bible than other people do. God has equipped us for it all. We do not preach or advance ourselves, but our Lord.

5. The Greater Use of Talents and Endowments

And that would lead me to this third point. Reminders in the midst of accomplishment, that the greater use of talents and endowments is to advance the Lord’s cause on this earth. At the end of the day, the degrees we held, the positions in the companies we work for, the amount of money we amassed, the retirement that we produced. What does that count in the great by and by? If we have not employed ourselves in the Lord’s work. And in giving honor and praise to the one who gives us life and hope beyond death. Immortality. Remember, life here is not a permanent condition. And I would say this humility requires cultivation. When Jesus said, for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted.

6. Humility Requires Cultivation

He is admonishing his audience and admonishing us to work on the development of a right view of self. Lowering ourselves. As Paul would say in Philippians chapter 2, it’s not that this had been mastered by his audience. He said, esteem others better than yourselves. Do not merely look out upon your own interests. Why would you do that? I am only concerned about my own interests. Why? Because you’re up here and everybody else is down here. That’s why. Do not merely look upon your own interests, but also the interests of others. I’ve said for a long time, Philippians 2, 3, and 4 are some of the biggest challenges to the righteousness of Christ in the New Testament for us. To look at all others and say, I’m going to esteem them better than myself.

To not be so focused on my little world and my things and my stuff, but to actually have some concern and compassion for the circumstances of others and exalt those things above myself. Those are a tremendous challenge for all of us. But here’s the thing. Philippians 2, 3 and 4 are not verses that stand alone in that context. There’s a greater context. And what is the greater context of those statements? The verse that follows.

And then how he exemplified those very qualities that Paul has just mentioned in his descent. In his self-sacrifice, in the extent of his descent, even death on the cross. And then what? God has highly exalted him. He who humbled himself to the uttermost was exalted to the uttermost.

I bet our young people have never heard of Mac Davis. Mac Davis.

Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble. When you’re perfect in every way.

Conclusion

Look it up. You can still hear it on YouTube, I’m sure. That sentiment is not getting the job done. So what did Dan Shipley conclude about the story of King Saul? Of course, what Samuel said to Saul in Acts 15 is that you are guilty of rebellion and the sin of divination. He goes, does that sound harsh? It shouldn’t. Not when you realize that man arrays himself against God in every act of deliberate disobedience. It says, in effect, I will not submit. The first lesson to be learned in serving God is humility. Whenever men conclude by any process of reasoning or rationalizing that their ways are as good as God’s. They prove themselves too big to work in God’s hardness. It’s a little illustration from the farm there.

That’s what happens when we become too big in our own eyes. God’s harness just doesn’t fit us quite properly enough. We need this restriction. Not only does this man change his attitude toward God and losing his sense of littleness, he also changes his attitude toward men. As men acquire those things that make them somewhat, whether thrones, money, position, success, or education, they are apt to see their peers as somewhat less. The kind of pride that kept Saul from appreciating David is still a threat to the unity of God’s people. And not only in others. For all can forget their littleness at times. The one who looks up to all other brethren and looks down on none, this one is strong. May God help us to cultivate this sense of littleness, Dan said.

The kind that truly appreciates God and brethren. The kind that confesses weakness and wrongdoing and says, God, be thou merciful. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humble. And he who humbles himself shall be exalted. It’s always been what God has wanted back in Isaiah, my hand made all these things, thus all the things, all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one will I look. The fact that he would even look at us at all. What is man? To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at my word. We need the look of God’s forgiveness, his favor, and his fellowship. And we should indeed tremble at the lofty and blessed things contained within his word and the awesome wrath that is coming on the sons of disobedience.

Have you escaped the prospect of God’s wrath by humbling yourselves before the King of kings and accepting his wonderful harness for your life and his provisions? If you’re subject to the gospel invitation, come now as we stand and we sing.