So my desire tonight is to preach on the subject of receiving grace in 2025. I need to give some background on how I came to this message and to this point. In January the 1st came around and again as I'm sure many of you I began a new Bible reading plan program. This time my plan is in the help of God to go through the Bible again this year but do so in chunks. So often the Bible plans of a chapter here, here, and elsewhere, maybe four different parts. Well, my plan is to read three or four chapters in Genesis, Exodus, and go through the Bible. I haven't done that before. And so it's a new plan for this year. Well, having said all that, what happened then? Well, you hit Genesis and you're confronted with some very, very important and serious matters right at the very beginning of your year. I think the language of Genesis four through seven, The sin of Cain and Abel and death of Abel in that regard. And you think of the trouble that advances in the world in the days of Noah. And again one book I was reading just commenting on these matters were highlighting the importance of taking sin seriously. That's a good message to begin a new year with. Again, we can all, as God's people, we can begin to take sin less seriously than we should. We've become blasé and careless, perhaps in our Christian lives, we must take sin seriously. But one of the cross-references that I was reading at that time was here in Luke chapter 18. And again, the necessity of taking sin seriously, the parallel was drawn between the publican who saw himself as righteous, or sorry, the Pharisee who saw himself as righteous, and the publican who saw himself as a sinner. And then I took notes of verse number 14. Everyone that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. That was okay for one day, but the thoughts began to process in my mind again regarding what the Lord was teaching me at the beginning of this new year. I then went to Genesis 11, and there you come to Babel. Of course, the issue in Babel is they want to build a city and a tower, and let us make us a name. Again, one writer says this, human pride is an enemy of the glory and plan of God. And so this day by day being confronted with the necessity of taking sin seriously and dealing with the matter of my own pride and seeking to put that to death with the Lord's help. To remind myself again of the theme in the scriptures. God resisted the pride, but gave grace unto the humble. James 4, 6, and 1 Peter 5, verse 5. We need grace in this new year. We all need that individually. As a church, we need God's grace if we are to go forward. And so you read the scriptures, Psalm 138, verse number six. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly. but the pride he knoweth afar off. Or Psalm 51, verse 17, the sacrifice of God, our broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Or Micah chapter six, verse eight, he has showed thee, O man, what is good and what the Lord require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God. So if we are to receive grace in 2025, it will only be as we walk humbly with our God. I'm sure you all this day, as you come into the house of God, you want to know more of God's grace, God's strength, and God's presence. And so what I want to do is really show you how this theme develops in the scriptures in various ways. Again, topically. Looking at these texts that speak about God's regard for the humble and His giving grace to the humble and show you that in these various ways that I believe is a message for each and every one of us in this gathering that we would know God's grace as we walk humbly in 2025. Humility is the posture that receives God's grace. So first of all here in Luke chapter 18, I want to highlight again the importance of walking humbly in God's presence. This is where it all begins of course. And there is no humility unless you start here with the example and with the experience of the publican. His humility is seen in verse number 13. It's then commended clearly in verse number 14. Again, the results, this man is justified. Again, we could take time to consider that blessed truth. He hears a man who knows his sin and yet goes as one who is forgiven and accepted. His sin is no longer in God's sight. He's now covered in Christ's righteousness. He's justified. And how is that explained? He is exalted. Not because of his merits. He's exalted because of Christ's merit. And to be justified is to be exalted in God's presence. And the one who's exalted is the one who's humbled. He that humbles himself, verse 14, shall be exalted. That's what I want to do in this message as we look through this topical matter of humility. I want to look at each of these portions and really show you what humility looks like. It's one of those words that's sometimes hard to define. We know it and we see it, but sometimes it's hard to put our finger on what it actually is. So we're gonna try to do that on each of these occasions. So let's begin with this public. What does humility look like in his life? Well, of course, there is an awareness of his sin. Verse 13, God be merciful to me, a sinner or the sinner. He's so mindful of his own sin that he can barely see anybody else's. And again, that's the point of the passage. Again, verse number nine, the warning is to the Pharisees who trust in themselves and despise others. The humble sinner despises himself, does not trust himself, sees himself as being unworthy of anything of God's favor. And so he's conscious of his own sin. personal. The Pharisee is very mindful of all his goodness. He's better than others. The publican sees himself in his sin. If you're going to walk humbly with God, it's absolutely essential you own your own sin. We're almost programmed in fundamental circles to see sin in others and not see sin in ourselves. We understand and we can identify problems in the world, in the church. We can see all these problems. We are slow to see our own feelings. We need to have this humble walk before God and recognize ourselves as being personally guilty of violating God's law. What is sin? Any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. We don't love God as we ought. We don't love our neighbor as we ought. That's the negative. We don't do as we should. And then you add all the things that we do to violate God's law. We are sinners in God's sight. And we need to own that. Even as those who are sinners saved by grace. We need to remember the place from which we've come. We're not like the public in the sense that we don't need to stay in that posture. We are justified. We don't need to come into God's presence in the sense of standing afar off. We're told to come nigh, but yet it all begins here. And so if we're to continue walking humbly with God, we need to remember where it starts and we own our own sin. And we take the seriousness of our sin seriously. Sin, owning sin. Humility is also seen secondly. The recognition of the separation that sin causes. He recognized this. The publicans standing afar off. You see, you can come into the house of God, perhaps not converted, and you may be able to stay here and say, yes, I admit I have sinned against God. You may admit that, but not understand the consequence. Not recognize that due to your sin, In the house of God tonight, it's a mercy that you're not dead. We believe, don't we, that when two or three gather, the Lord is here in the midst. We come together in the house of God and the understanding God is here. And yet the sinner took him into the house of God and be in God's presence without being clothed in Christ's righteousness, puts him in great danger of the wrath of God upon them. It's God's common grace that allows you to be here out of Christ. So you need to come to terms with the fact that your sin separates you from God, Isaiah 58. To stand afar off is indeed appropriate in that sense. You have no right of access or approach unto God God's a holy God. He cannot look with favor upon sin. For you to enter God's presence in that regard is to take to yourself a privilege that does not belong to you. So humility is recognizing that. Recognizing your own sin and the consequence of that sin and that sin separates you from God. Thirdly, humility in the sinner in this sense also recognizes the need for substitution. You'll know the language here used is often preached upon in verse number 13, God be merciful to me a sinner. The word merciful there has a sense of propitious that God would not treat him as he deserves. But even beyond that, it's not mercy as much in that sense as it is our recognition that he needs God to turn away his wrath from him upon the sacrifice of another. They're in the temple here. They're in the temple to pray as a recognition in the temple sacrifice again of substitutionary atonement. That God, as you saw this morning, has sent his son into the world, the just for the unjust to bring us to God. And so this sinner recognizes that I can't come to God unless the just dies for the unjust to make that possible. So we praise God, be propitious to me a sinner. God, pardon my iniquity. Turn away your wrath because your wrath is upon another. Now you say, does he understand all of that? This is before Calvary. I'm not sure all he understands, but he understands from the Old Testament. There's a God in heaven. There's a God in heaven with whom he has to do. And the only way for a man to stand in the presence of God is to have their sins atoned for by sacrifice and by blood sacrifice. He gets all that. And we standing this side of Calvary all the more must understand that there is no way to approach God but by substitutionary atonement. That's humility. And what a fearful thing it is for the Pharisee. to come into God's presence, and what is his boast and his confidence? It's all of his efforts, all of his works. Bold, proud, arrogant. What happens to him? Verse 14, everyone that exalt themselves shall be abased. The pride hard in the house of God will end up being humbled in hell forever and ever. And yet even there, the hearts not change, are still weeping and gnashing of teeth as they grind their teeth in anger against God. We need to be humble in God's presence. So let's start there. Tonight's the night to be saved. It's a new year, a new start. Do not spend another moment in this world under the wrath of God. Recognize humbly, I am a sinner. My sin separates me from God and I must have a substitute. Tonight's the night to have your sins forgiven. Come to Christ and be saved. Come as the publican does. Bow down in God's presence humbly. Don't leave here as an arrogant, pompous sinner. You have nothing to boast of before God. You can boast in your parents and boast before men, but you have nothing to boast of before God. Humble yourself. That's how you're gonna receive grace in 2025. Humbling yourself in God's presence. Secondly, we're then gonna humble ourselves amongst God's people. The saved. Because they are humbled by their sin, they then live a life of humility amongst the people of God. Turn back to Luke chapter 14. Luke 14. Again, we're going to see another one of these references. You're going to see the theme here developing in the connection of these various passages. Luke 14. And the verse number 11, look what it says there. For whosoever exalted themselves shall be abased, and he that humbled themselves shall be exalted. Again, the picture's different this time. And you go back to verse number seven. He put forth a parable to those who were bidden, when he marked out how they chose out the chief rooms, saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, give this man place, and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit thou in the lowest room. And when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meet with thee. For whosoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. Again, here's Pride being seen in terms of self-promotion. Putting yourselves in the place of esteem and honor in a public setting. Keeping that in mind, I want you to turn now to a parallel, which is Matthew chapter 23, and then I trust you'll see the application in Matthew 23. Again, parallel to this. And the verse number 12, again you have our reference again. whose service shall exalt themselves shall be abased, and he that humble of himself shall be exalted. But now, the word of warning comes again to the Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees, verse number two, that sit in Moses' seat. And they bind, heavy burdens, grievous be born. Of all their works, verse five, what do they do? They do to be seen of men. And they love the uppermost rooms and the feasts and the chief seats in the synagogue. You see verse number six, parallel to Luke chapter 14. They like the greetings in the markets. They called the men Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye, verse eight, called Rabbi, for one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your father which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters, for one is your master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you, The warning is coming again to the pride of the scribes and the Pharisees in religious service. And they love these uppermost rooms at the feasts. And the Lord warns them regarding the nature of his kingdom. What does service look like in the church of Christ? It looks like humility. It looks like a recognition that we are all brethren. And so in light of that, let me just highlight three, just three very simple marks of humility amongst God's people. And you'll know these, we've preached on these things in Romans in recent times. There is the mark of selflessness. Not self-promotion or self-exalting, but a selflessness in the house of God. Again, as Paul will tell the Philippians, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, there's our reference, let each esteem other better than themselves. There's that selfless spirit in the house of God. Going into all of the application of that, it's a desire to serve others, not to be served by others. To desire, what can I do for the work of God? What can I do to help the people of God and encourage them in their ways? Selflessness. There's also the mark of sensitivity. We need to be sensitive to each other. That's not a liberal word. It's a Christian word. Again, you think of what we saw in Romans 15, wherefore receive ye one another. We need to be sensitive to the needs of God's people. sensitive to their feelings, to their maturity, to consider each other even better than ourselves and to look upon others and to see, well, how can I pray for them? How can I encourage them? How can I support them? Seeking to build and edify and not to pull down and destroy. Sensitive to the needs of God's people. And thirdly, there's a mark of service. Again, that's clear, verse number 11. He that is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's how Paul applies it in Romans chapter 12. Again, we're to think soberly regarding our own gifts and then use those gifts according to the grace that is given to us, serving the people of God. You see that this humble walk is the means of receiving God's grace. When you read Philippians, you see that humility leads to unity, and in Psalm 133, unity leads to blessing. Again, a humbleness in the people of God is vital for God to bring grace upon the work of God. It's that disposition that God honors and delights. The one that humbles himself shall be exalted and know the grace of God. Let's move on then to humility under God's precepts. That's over in James 4. I've kind of mentioned to you already. James is one of these references where God gives grace. And so we're seeing these things coming together. James 4 and the verse number 6. But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisted the pride, but giveth grace unto the humble. Again we're looking at how do we discern the marks here of humility. We see it in God's presence in terms of recognizing our sin and how our sin takes us away from God. We see it in the house of God amongst the people of God by a selfless service of the people of God. Well what's it look like here in James chapter 4? What's the context of this? Verse 6, He giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the pride, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. It's another separate context here. It's a different issue here. And yet they're all connected. And you don't get one without the other. The one who's humble in God's presence will be humble among God's people, and will also be humble under God's precepts. But the context here is carnality in the life of God's people. Verse number five. Again, it's referring to this remaining sin. It dwells in us. It leads to those things that violate the will of God. And again, the context is in terms of wars, Verse number one, from whence come wars and fighting among you? Come not hence even of your lusts at war and your members? Again, there's conflict in the people of God as carnality lives in their hearts. There's also worldliness in the people of God. Verse number four, ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. This would be a church to attend, wouldn't it? There's carnality and worldliness amongst the people of God. And what's the necessity? Well, indwelling sin causes such carnality. Such carnality brings about consequences, a worldly spirit in the work of God, and a warring spirit in the work of God. There's carnality, and what's the solution? Verse number six, he giveth more grace. We will not address problems in our lives due to some efforts of self-reformation and self-improvement. The only solution to remaining sin in our hearts, oh, sin that does not reign, but it does remain, the only solution is God's grace, and God's grace is given to the humble. Wherefore, God resisted the pride, but gave grace unto the humble. Verse number 10, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. And that humility is seen in verses seven and eight. Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Carnality in the people of God. warfare and worldliness. And the solution is given, submit yourselves to God, draw nigh to God, cleanse your hands ye sinners. Clearly the language is of dealing with sin in the lives of God's people and the necessity is God's grace. Again, we can see the problems. But the solution is the grace of God. And if we're going to have that grace, we need to humble ourselves. And that looks like submitting ourselves to God, verse number seven. And I believe in the context that submission is willingly placing ourselves under God's precepts. not the devil's devices, not the sinful suggestions in our own minds and hearts, but rather what does the Word of God say in our circumstances? How we live God's will, not the world's will, not the carnal will, but God's will. And so I think what you see here is the promise of grace in verse number six. is a grace given to those who humbly say, and in simple terms, Lord, you're right. That's what humility looks like, not rationalizing. Not self-justifying, not saying, yes, but, but, but, but, but, but rather saying, this is what the Bible says regarding my life, I submit to that, God is right. That's the humility that then comes to receive the grace of God. So don't start this year at war with God's word. That's not humble. That's the pride spirit that God resists. And so as you look at your life and consider your life, submit every area of your life under the word of God. It's so obvious, you can preach every week. What does God's will look like in your home? If you're a husband, it looks like loving your wife, raising your children diligently and faithfully. And if you're a wife, what's it look like? It looks like submission to your husband as they seek to lovingly lead you in the things of God. If you're a child, it looks like obedience to your parents. Not just when they tell you to do things you want, but when they tell you to do things that are still for your good. What's it look like in the workplace? It looks like diligence, even when your employer's not looking at you. It looks like a faithfulness. It looks like doing it for the honor of Christ. In your leisure activities, what does that look like? It looks like doing those things that are honorable and righteous. Not putting unclean things before your eyes. In your free time, using that free time in a way that gives honor and glory to God, that's for your benefit, not for your harm. In church life, it looks like lovingly, committing yourselves to the people of God, to the place of prayer, to the place of public worship in society, being a light in a dark place, salt and light in this world, all these things, you can go through all of the things in your world. Think of Monday, 9 a.m. Monday, to 9 a.m. the following Monday, every area of your life, what does the word of God tell you how you should live and conduct yourself? You won't be perfect. But you must have the spirit at least. If you decide to resist the will of God, you're deciding to act in such a way that brings you against the purpose of God and denies the grace that's given to the humble. And in this carnality, we need this grace. I begin to the humility to say, Lord, you're right. Again, stop excusing our actions. Rationalizing, justifying ourselves in the sight of men, but not in the sight of God. Humble under God's precepts. Which leads to the final one, which is humility under God's providences. That's our portion in 1 Peter 5. Again, I say these things are all closely connected. It's not a case you choose. I'll be humble in one and three, but not two and four. This is a all-encompassing view of the Christian life. There's no place for pride in the Christian life anywhere, at any juncture, at any time. And certainly we need God's grace at all times. We need God's grace as we saw this morning in every season, if we're gonna trust in the Lord at all times. But here I'm thinking of the need for grace. In a manner like Paul experienced the thorn in the flesh was painful and yet God came and promised him sufficient grace. You have that promise here in verse number five, God resisted the pride and give us grace to the humble. Grace again received and humility. But this humility is seen not in submission to God's precepts per se and what's included, but in submission to God's providences. See the church here that Peter writes to the scattered believers are suffering the great persecution at the hands of the Roman empire. It's a fiery trial. They're told not to be surprised this fiery trial. Verse number 10, and again refers to them after you've suffered a while. Make you perfect. It gives the impression almost that they're going to suffer all the way until glory. You see that in that text? But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you suffered a while, make you perfect. Establish, strengthen, settle you. It gives a sense that Ahuil is describing the brevity of their suffering in light of eternity. Not that they'll suffer for a few years and then have years of peace after that. The idea here is, I believe, the apostles warning them that they may suffer their entire pilgrimage of this earth and their suffering. Suffering is coming in spiritual warfare. Like as James tells us, believers to resist the devil. So Peter says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeing whom he may devour. They're in spiritual warfare. You see that over in chapter four and the verse number 12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice in as much as you're protected of Christ's sufferings. Now when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." Again, Peter is encouraging them with eternity in mind. He's not giving them some promise, trust in God, and all your troubles will go away. It's not a health, wealth, and prosperity false gospel here. He's warning them of a life of suffering. So what does he tell them? Verse number 19 of chapter 4, Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator. It's submission to the providences of God. Their suffering is according to God's sovereign will and they must commit their souls to such a God. How does that lead to your text? Well, back in chapter five, in the verse number five, you have the promise. For God resisted the pride and gave grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you. Again, please note in due time and what that due time may well mean. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. The humility that receives God's grace is the humility that does not balk against God's providences. And the grace that we receive is then received as we cast our care upon him. And it comes back full circle to this morning's message. We trust in the Lord at all times. You all know how difficult it is to accept the hard providences of God. the things that come in our lives according to God's will, not due to our personal sin, not due to folly in our part, but due to living in a fallen world, seeking to be faithful to the Lord, we find ourselves oftentimes under hard providences. Humility here has the picture of submission to that providence, not a bitterness of heart, Not a fighting, not a shaking of a fist in the face of God. Why, God, have you allowed this into my life? Why have you allowed this to come across my path? And we're angry and screaming in the face of our God. That's not the picture of humility here. Humble yourselves, therefore, unto the mighty hand of God. He sees your sorrows and your sufferings, and he will exalt you in due time. He does care for you, but he calls us to humility in the meantime. casting our cares to find the grace that we need in time of need. So if we're going to know God's grace in 2025, I tell you, the Bible makes it very clear, the only way to know God's grace in this year is the way of humility. In God's presence, amongst God's people, under God's precepts, under God's providences. It's a high calling. By nature, we are inherently prideful. This is only by God's grace that we're humble. So let's close tonight in prayer. Let's together ask the Lord to give us a humble spirit, humble before God in our lives, and that by God's grace we put our proud spirits to death. Let's pray together. Eternal God and Father in heaven, we know what we should say. We know, oh God, enough of your word to know that we ought to be humble in our hearts. Yet, dear Father, I reflect back upon past days, months, and years, and how often a proud spirit rise up within our souls. Oh, eternal God, we pray for your grace and for your mercy. We pray, oh God, that you'd help us to see ourselves in light of our sin, our unworthiness, and to delight in the mercy you've shown us in Christ Jesus. Harden us, O God, for our iniquities. Help us, O God, to consider the necessity of humility in this coming year. You would help us not to forget these things. Day by day, beginning every day, Lord, grant us the grace to be humble in your presence. Thank you for salvation. Thank you for sanctifying grace, the work of the Spirit of God, that by the grace of God, we are not what we once were. And yet we pray for more and more grace to make us more and more like Christ. Grant us that godly heart, we pray. Help us tonight, bless this gathering. We thank you for our time together. We pray you'd watch over us in the coming days. Help us, O God, to delight in your God, to rejoice Be glad you've been so good to us. Take us home in safety. May your blessing indeed rest and abide upon us tonight and forevermore.