Live Free with Josh Howerton - Humility: The Key to Everything | Ep. 420 | Friday, September 13, 2024

Episode Date: September 13, 2024

We do not want salvation for the purpose of behavior modifications but to be transformed so that we can walk in freedom. Committing is not the same as surrendering; just like trying is not the same as trusting. You need to have humility. Humility is the key to everything, every situation, and every relationship. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.combe. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, welcome to the Daily Drive. I'm Mike Bro. In this entire week, we've been looking at a story involving Jesus and this blue-collar hard-working, kind-hearted military guy. He's a man who really understands the chain of authority and recognizes Jesus as the one with the ultimate power and control. And we've learned that Jesus is amazed at that kind of humility and faith. What's it take to amaze the maker of the cardiovascular system? What's it take to impress the painter of sunset? I mean, how, how? How do you take to amaze the maker of the state? How does it take to amaze the maker of? How? How does it take? How? How? How does it take to amaze the maker of? How? How? What's it? do you amaze someone like that? Well, in a word, humility. We read this verse back on Wednesday, Isaiah 66, verse 2, where God says, this is the one I esteem. And that word, esteem means impressed.

He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. You see, God has always been impressed, always been amazed by the same thing. He's impressed by those who are humble and surrendered and recognized the authority of his word. You know the key to getting well, the key to getting whole, restoring sanity, restoring relationship, the key to life. The key to living a better story is humility. It's surrendering to God's authority. That's why every person that's truly successful in recovery, successful in marriage, successful in parenting, successful in all the things that really matter, have surrendered their self under the care and control of a loving God. Now, I want to clarify something. When I talk about surrender, it's not the same as commitment.

Now, don't confuse the two. Although commitment is a really good thing, it still has a little too much of myself in it. I can do this myself. I can beat this myself. I will discipline myself. I will pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I just got to be committed.

I have learned the hard and frustrating way. That commitment that's based on sheer willpower and your own strength is just setting yourself up to lose. I like how my buddy Dan Webster differentiates the two. He says, commitment challenges us to a higher level of determination. Surrender calls us to yield the soul to God's higher purposes. Commitment is saying that I'll do better. Surrender is giving up and allowing God to do his work through me. Commitment is my best effort. Surrender is God's competency working

through me. Commitment is me trying. Surrender is me trusting. Commitment is me striving. Surrender is me submitting. Commitment is writing big impressive verbal checks. Surrender is the grace that can actually cash him. It means you're not coming to God saying, okay, God, you know, I'm going to do better. I'm committed. I will never do that again, say that again, eat that again, drink that again, watch that again. I am committed. I promise.

No, instead, just every day you come to God and say, Lord, I'm here again. I just want to follow you each moment today as you give me grace. I'm not making any big-time dramatic commitments today. I'm just going to surrender my day and humbly trust you with every step of the way. today. I will be sensitive to your Holy Spirit as he leads me to do the right

thing today. I will hide your word in my heart so that it can speak to me right in the middle of tough decisions today. I will listen well today. I will rely on your strength and your peace and your grace today because I don't want just mere behavior modification. I want to be transformed

into your best version of me. So once again, Jesus, I want to place myself under your loving authority today. You know, I'm a slow learner, but I'm learning that humility and surrender is what opens my heart, the miraculous work of God and me. It allows him the freedom to both direct my life and correct my life. It allows him the freedom to stretch me and transform me and move me out of all those unhealthy

thinking patterns and unhealthy behavioral ruts. You see, when God sees a man, a woman who is prone to arrogance, pride, and selfishness, and then he sees them humble themselves, He's impressed by that. He's amazed by that. He respects that. And with amazing grace, he starts to go to work in their life. Now, surrender doesn't always produce a miracle, but it does always precede one. When Jesus approached broken people, he simply wanted to know, is there a willingness to believe?

Is there a simple humility that says, I can't do this? But I believe you can. Keith Miller in his excellent book, A Hunger for Healing, writes about his own experience in the 12-step group. He says this, as I watch the higher power reveal itself to various people in the group, its personality always had certain definite characteristics. I knew that if everyone were just making up their own higher power, this wouldn't happen. It couldn't. The personality of the quote-unquote higher power revealed in those meetings was always loving and forgiving, gave people however many new starts needed to get into recovery and to get well, was honest, moral,

courageous and strong but never abusive, was loyal beyond belief whether people deserved it or not. In fact, as I look carefully at the higher power in the 12-step program, I realized it had a haunting family resemblance to Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus, the one with real authority, and the truth is he changes lives. When you surrender to him every day, when you loosen your grip on the wheel of your life, and you let him be the quote unquote, daily driver.

When you trust, even tremble at the power and wisdom of his word every day, when you humble yourself under his loving authority every day, when you talk to him all throughout the day, he will start doing miraculous things inside of you. And you know what? Life may still be hard. But your heart no longer will be. And the situation you're currently looking at may still be there.

But the way you see it will be different. And your circumstances might not dramatically change. But you will. and gang, that's the greater miracle. I'm praying for you today as I do every single day, and I hope you have a great weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday. Thanks for tuning in today.

For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.comptarch slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.