From His Heart

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Today we want to talk about the attitude that so many people forget about. It's the attitude that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, had. You say, what attitude is that? It's the attitude of humility. How well are you doing with an attitude of humility?

Well, God has something to say to us today in a message I've entitled "The Lowdown on the High Road."

Larry Nobles: Well, it looks like we're going to be embarking on some interesting travel today on From His Heart. This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve, and today he continues through this dynamic series, "Attitude for Altitude," and addresses the battles that rage in all of us concerning humility and pride.

I had a dear Aunt Louise who used to say to us kids all the time, "Youngens, I'm not conceited because conceit's a fault and I don't have any faults." We would laugh, of course, and she was obviously joking—at least I think she was. But you know what? Many people actually live with that mindset.

Or perhaps it's a heart set. It's set on me, me, me. Do you live much of your life with a heart set on you? If you miss any of this lesson today and tomorrow, you're going to want to listen to it all. So go to fromhisheart.org and click the listen link to catch up.

But first, let's do some vulnerable self-discovery today on From His Heart as Pastor Jeff begins the lesson, "The Lowdown on the High Road."

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Ronald Reagan is one of my personal heroes. He was president for most of the 80s. Before that, he was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975. He shares a story about going to Mexico City to give a speech. The place was filled and he gave his speech, and after he was done, there was very unenthusiastic applause.

Reagan sat down and he thought, "Man, that really bombed." He was embarrassed. Here he is, the Great Communicator, and he just bombed a speech. So he sat there feeling embarrassed. Then the guy that got up next to him, the next speaker, spoke in Spanish. Man, he was just knocking them dead.

Everything he said, the people were just clapping and hooping and hollering. Reagan thought, "What am I doing? I'm up here feeling so embarrassed, and this guy's just knocking it out of the park and I couldn't even get a hit." He decided he had to clap because otherwise it would look like sour grapes.

He started clapping longer and louder than the rest of the crowd to show that he was in it and he supported this guy. Finally, someone leaned over to Reagan and said, "I wouldn't clap so much if I were you. That man is interpreting your speech."

Today we want to talk about the attitude that so many people forget about. It is the attitude that is so critical but so forgotten. It is the attitude that the Bible says brings the grace of Almighty God. It's the attitude that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, had.

You say, what attitude is that? It's the attitude of humility. Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart."

Wow, He's gentle and He is humble in heart. He's the King of kings and Lord of lords. He's the one we've been singing about. He is holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. This great God, this Creator God, this God who spoke the worlds into existence.

Jesus was and is the one that Isaiah saw in Isaiah chapter 6, where he saw the Lord high and lifted up and His train filled the temple. That is Jesus, the sovereign supreme God, and yet He is humble. He is lowly in His mind and in His heart.

The Bible says to have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. It is this attitude of humility. Question: how well are you doing with an attitude of humility? Or put it another way: could we find you today secretly clapping at your own speech? Are you patting yourself on the back because you think you are really somebody?

Well, God has something to say to us today as we look at Philippians chapter 2 in a message I've entitled "The Lowdown on the High Road." Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself."

Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I want to share with you three insights from this passage concerning the attitude of humility. Insight number one: our default setting as fallen human beings is pride. Verse 3 says to do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.

Why does God say that? God had Paul write that through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the Philippians. Why do you have to say that about selfishness and empty conceit? Why do you have to command having this humility and lowliness of mind? It's because you and I don't have it in and of ourselves.

What you and I have in and of ourselves is pride. We got that from our great-grandfather Adam because when Adam and Eve sinned, it was a sin of pride, and they passed that down to all their descendants. You and I are born with this Adamic nature that is rooted in pride.

Charles Spurgeon said, "The demon of pride was born with us and it will not die one hour before we do. It is woven into the very fabric of our nature and we shall never hear the last of it until we die." That's the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great preacher from England. That is so true.

You struggle with pride, I struggle with pride, Billy Graham struggles with pride. Everyone who has ever lived, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, has struggled with pride. What exactly is pride? Well, pride is P-R-I-D-E. If you look at it, the middle letter tells it all. I. That's what pride is.

Pride is just the big I. It's all about me and it's all about what I want. I want what I want when I want it, and that is pride. Pride is one of those things that is insidious. Somebody has said it's the only disease that makes everyone sick except the one who has it. That's pride.

We can recognize pride in other people, but sometimes we can't recognize it so well when it's in us. So how can you tell if you are suffering today from pride? How can you tell if you are walking in pride? We all have to deal with it. Benjamin Franklin said humility is the only virtue that once you realize you have it, you've lost it.

It's like the pastor who was told he was so humble that they gave him a button that said "The Most Humble Pastor Around." They gave it to him on a Sunday and took it away from him the next Sunday because he wore the button. You just can't wear a button that says you're the most humble guy because then you're not humble anymore.

So how can you tell if you are walking in pride? Well, pride reveals itself in selfishness. Do nothing from selfishness is what the scripture says. Not one thing are you to do from a selfish motive, a selfish heart, or a selfish mindset. The word selfish literally means selfish ambition.

It's a self-seeking that leads to quarrels and contention. Do you know the number one cause of problems in marriage and in families today? You say, "I know what it is. It's money." No, it's not money. You say, "Well, it's sex." No, it's not sex. "It's in-laws. It's got to be in-laws."

There are some in here saying, "Yes, that was my answer." No, it's not there. The number one problem in marriage is selfishness. Because a husband says, "I want what I want when I want it," and his wife says, "I want what I want when I want it." You put two selfish people together and they butt heads. We are to do nothing from selfishness.

Larry Nobles: Did you know that you don't have to be a theologian to understand how pride and selfishness go hand in hand? Are you like that? Do you want what you want when you want it, now? In just a moment, Pastor Jeff Schreve returns on From His Heart with more about this default setting of pride in the human heart. Stay with us.

Today's message is called "The Lowdown on the High Road." It's from Pastor Jeff's six-message series, "Attitude for Altitude." Of course, pride is a worldwide problem and it's going to take a global outreach to communicate with people around the world. That's what we're attempting to do at From His Heart each and every day.

We saw exponential growth in our international reach through both traditional and digital platforms last year. Listeners and viewers from dozens of countries are now engaging with Pastor Jeff's teaching regularly. Looking to the future, our goal is bold: to have From His Heart's content available in five major languages within the next five years.

With your support, we'll be equipping churches, leaders, and believers around the world with bold biblical truth in their own language. You can click the read link for a treasure trove of insights on so many important topics, like end times, marriage, healing, parenting, sharing your faith, spiritual growth, and more.

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Call 866-40-BIBLE or go online to fromhisheart.org. Know that together we can and will impact more people this year than ever before. Please pray about what you can do to help us this month. Now let's get back to learning about the lowdown on the high road.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Do you struggle with selfishness? Selfishness is a gross thing. What's the middle word in the word selfishness? Fish. Selfishness just stinks. It stinks like fish. Do you ever see someone who is selfish and think, "I'm so drawn to you. There's just something about your selfishness that I want to be around"?

No, we hate selfishness. Do nothing, the scripture says, from selfishness. Pride reveals itself in selfishness. This is what I want because it's all about me. Pride also reveals itself in a desire for recognition and glory. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, vain glory, or personal glory.

Pride is when you want to see your name in lights, in print, or on a plaque. You will give money just so they'll put your name in the paper or on a plaque so that people can see it's all about you. Empty conceit. Pride reveals itself through that when you think you're really something.

You think you're all that and a bag of chips. You think, "I'm the bee's knees, I'm the cat's pajamas. You need to look at me and recognize me. I need to get attention here because I'm really somebody special." I heard about a high-ranking British official who was having a soiree in the country where he was serving.

He invited a woman who was well-known and sophisticated in that area in the Orient. He invited her to this party. She was thinking she was really somebody. She gets to the party, which is a black-tie affair, and she is met by the aide. The aide seats her on the left-hand side of this high-ranking official.

Well, this woman knew that the place of honor is not the left-hand side, it's the right-hand side. So she's sitting there thinking, "I'm on the wrong side. He put me in the wrong place." She's just fuming inside because she's not in the place of honor. She finally can't contain herself and says to the official, "I think your aide needs a little more training."

"He doesn't seat people in the right place." The man looked at her and said, "Oh no, he doesn't need any more training. Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter." She thought she was somebody and she minded that she wasn't sitting on the right.

A person who really matters doesn't mind. They don't care. It's not about me; it's all about the Lord and others. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. I heard about a lawyer who was stuffed full of himself and was talking to a farmer who was a humble guy before God and man.

The lawyer said to the farmer, "You know what you need to do, farmer? You need to hold your head up high. You need to start walking with your nose a little higher in the air." He said, "I don't bow my head for anybody, not even God." The farmer looked at him and said, "When I look out on the fields of grain, it is the empty stalk of wheat that stands up high. Those that are filled bow low."

So true. Are you standing up high? Are you saying it's all about you? Where is your recognition? How come people don't notice you? How come you're not getting your name in print or in lights? Do nothing, the scripture says, from selfishness or empty conceit.

Pride is revealed in selfishness and in that desire for recognition and glory. Pride is the number one sin that God hates. Proverbs chapter 6 says there are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him and utterly repulsive to God.

Number one on the list is haughty eyes, or as the Amplified puts it, a proud look—the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others. Philippians tells us with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.

Do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. Haughty eyes says it's all about me. I don't care about other people. It's all about who I am and my glory and things that will feed and foster self.

First Peter 5:5 tells us this: "You younger men likewise be subject to your elders, and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble." The scripture says to clothe yourself every day in humility and lowliness of mind.

Don't think that you are all that and a bag of chips. Don't have an inflated opinion of yourself. Don't overestimate yourself and underestimate others. Put on humility as a garment because God is opposed to the proud. The word "opposed" is a military term.

It's a battle term. The moment that you or I start walking in pride, God says, "At that moment, that's when I line up against you. That's when we're going to go toe-to-toe. We're going to go to battle if you're proud." Nebuchadnezzar was king in Babylon and was so proud of his accomplishments.

He was so proud of what he did and what he achieved. Babylon was incredible. As he was walking on the palace, he said, "Is this not Babylon the Great which I myself have made and my hands have fashioned? Look at me and what I've conquered and what I've done."

God opposed him and at that moment, Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind. Oh, you're so great? Bam! Not so great anymore, are you? Sovereignty has been removed from you. God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Isn't that great?

If things happen to me to humble me, that just means there's grace. This is just an avenue for God to give me grace. Your default setting and my default setting, if we're not waking up and clothing ourselves in humility, is to walk in pride because that's who you are in your Adamic nature.

It's the big I. Some people get confused on humility. They think they can sniff out a proud person because they're always talking about themselves and bragging. If you caught a fish, they caught a bigger one. It's obviously pride. But we don't always recognize the person who talks negatively about himself.

"Well, I'm no good. I can't really do anything. I'm no good at this or that and nobody really likes me." We say that person is down or depressed. That person is struggling with pride. You say that doesn't sound like pride? Did you not hear it? It's all about "I'm not this" and "I'm not that."

Every person who is depressed in life is focused on the big I. It's just an inverted form of pride, but it's all about me, me, my, my, I, I, I. True humility is not thinking poorly of yourself; it is simply not thinking of yourself. With humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourself.

You're not thinking about yourself; you're thinking about other people. The book of Philippians is the book of joy, and someone made an acronym for the word joy: Jesus first, others second, you last. You live your life that way and you will experience joy in life.

Larry Nobles: Well, that's just the first insight that Pastor Jeff is bringing to light in this message: our default setting is pride. But how can we go from a proud spirit to a humble one? Make sure you're with us next time for part two of "The Lowdown on the High Road."

It's from Pastor Jeff's six-message series, "Attitude for Altitude." From His Heart's website is full of helpful and life-changing resources. We also have a treasure trove of incredible testimonies from people around the world who give accounts of how this ministry has impacted them.

Go to the Real Testimonies link on our homepage. Well, time has sped up today for part one of the lesson. I'm Larry Nobles. Thank you for being with us, and we trust that you'll join us again tomorrow for part two of this insightful and encouraging message. Here's just a little taste of what we'll explore tomorrow.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: Jesus humbled Himself and God the Father exalted Him. James chapter 4 verse 10 says to humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and what will happen? He will exalt you. He will lift you up if you humble yourself.

Why? Because God is opposed to the proud. He's opposed to the big I, and He gives grace to the humble. Humility brings exaltation. Self-exaltation brings humiliation. Jesus said whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Humility brings exaltation. Join us then when we'll again open up God's word and share from His heart.