Matters of the Heart #8 The importance of humble heart
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Discover why a humble heart is the first gift God ever gave and the master key to fulfilling every purpose love created you for.
Description
Humble Heart Overview
In this eighth and final session of the Matters of the Heart series, the Pastor of NTC Ministries opens with a foundational truth: God did not create humanity out of loneliness but out of love, because love must have an object through which to express itself. Drawing from 1 John 4:16, Genesis 1:26-28, John 3:16-17, and Ephesians 2:8-9, he builds a compelling case that every gift God has ever given flows directly from His nature as love. The sermon then pivots to what the Pastor calls the very first gift God gave to mankind before Adam ever drew breath: humility. Kneeling in the dirt to breathe life into man, God modeled the humble posture He calls every believer to adopt. Through the examples of Christ washing His disciples’ feet, enduring the cross without defense, and entering Jerusalem on a donkey’s foal, the Pastor shows that true love is always expressed through humility. Quoting C.S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, and Andrew Murray, and weaving in personal testimonies about obedience, marriage, and pastoral calling, he makes a passionate case that humbling oneself before God is the only pathway to being exalted into the purpose and identity love created you for.
Humble Heart Outline
- 00:00 – Opening Prayer and Series Introduction: The Pastor opens in prayer, introduces the eighth and final session of Matters of the Heart, and asks God to let His word go deep into every listener’s being to bear lasting fruit.
- 04:30 – God Is Love, Not Lonely: Addressing a common theological error, the Pastor explains that God created humanity not out of loneliness but because He is love and love requires an object to express itself, grounding this in Malachi 3:6 and 1 John 4:16.
- 14:00 – Love Gives Gifts: From Creation to Salvation: Walking through Genesis 1:26-28, John 3:16-17, and Ephesians 2:8-9, the Pastor demonstrates that every divine gift, from dominion to salvation to the Holy Spirit, is an expression of God’s love seeking to reach mankind.
- 24:00 – The First Gift: Humility Modeled in the Dirt: The Pastor identifies the very first gift God gave as humility itself, pointing to Genesis 2:7 where the God of all glory kneeled in dirt and breathed life into man, and tracing that same humility through Christ’s incarnation, foot-washing, and crucifixion.
- 35:00 – The Path Through Humiliation: Citing Mother Teresa, C.S. Lewis, and Andrew Murray, the Pastor teaches that the only road to genuine humility runs through humiliation, and that breaking down the fortress of pride one brick at a time is the daily work of discipleship.
- 44:00 – Philippians 2 and the Mind of Christ: An exposition of Philippians 2:5-11 shows how Jesus, equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a bond servant, and was therefore highly exalted, and how believers are called into that same downward-then-upward journey.
- 51:00 – Practical Humility in the Body of Christ: The Pastor applies the teaching to church life: allowing others to speak into your life, calling the elders when sick, submitting to spiritual authority, and serving others without waiting to be recognized, illustrated by his story of sweeping and mopping a church alone before preaching.
- 57:00 – Altar Call and Closing Prayer: The Pastor leads the congregation and all listeners in a salvation prayer, calling everyone to humble themselves before Jesus as Lord, owner, master, and ruler, and to receive a new heart filled with the Holy Spirit.
Scripture References
Malachi 3:6, 1 John 4:16, 1 John 4:8, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:7, John 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:8-9, Matthew 10:34, Matthew 10:32, Mark 10:45, Luke 14:11, Luke 9:23-24, Philippians 2:5-11, James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6-7
Key Takeaways
- God did not create humanity out of loneliness but because He is love, and love must have an object through which to express and realize itself.
- The very first gift God ever gave was the gift of humility, demonstrated when the God of all glory knelt in the dirt and breathed life into Adam with His own breath.
- True humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less, recognizing who love created you to be while placing others and God above your own agenda.
- The only pathway to genuine humility runs through humiliation, and every act of saying ‘I was wrong, please forgive me’ is a brick chiseled away from the fortress of pride.
- Jesus modeled perfect humility at every stage, from His birth in a stable to washing His disciples’ feet to dying on the cross without opening His mouth in self-defense.
- God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and when you genuinely humble yourself under His mighty hand He will exalt you to the very position love created you to occupy.
- A real relationship with God requires more than religious routine; it demands intimate, daily time with Him so that His love can be expressed through you to a world He created and is redeeming.
Humble Heart Notes
God’s Love as the Foundation of Creation
The Pastor dismantles the popular notion that God created humanity because He was lonely, pointing to Malachi 3:6 to show that an unchanging God cannot oscillate between loneliness and satisfaction. Instead, because God is love, He is compelled by His very nature to express that love outward. Everything He made, from the animals to the earth to mankind, was created out of love. This has profound practical implications: we were designed to produce love just as the earth produces what it was made from. Recognizing this changes how we see ourselves, other people, and even creation itself.
Humility as the First Divine Gift
Before Adam ever opened his eyes, God modeled humility by kneeling in the dirt. The God of all glory, the great I AM who always existed in brilliance and love, handcrafted a man from dust and then placed His own mouth over that man’s nostrils to breathe in the breath of life. The Pastor calls this the first gift: not dominion, not language, not a garden, but humility demonstrated in the act of creation itself. This sets the template for everything that follows in Scripture, establishing that love and humility are inseparable from the very beginning.
Christ’s Humility as the Pattern for Believers
Philippians 2:5-11 serves as the theological climax of the sermon. Jesus, who was fully equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a bond servant, and humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. The result was that God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name. The Pastor is clear that believers are called into this same pattern: humble yourself genuinely before God and He will exalt you into the purpose and identity He created you for, turning a doctrinal position into a lived reality.
Breaking the Fortress of Pride
Drawing on Mother Teresa’s insight that the only way to humility is through humiliation, and Andrew Murray’s observation that Christians often pray for humility while secretly praying to avoid what would humble them, the Pastor paints pride as a fortress dismantled only one brick at a time. Each ‘I’m sorry,’ each moment of letting someone speak hard truth into your life, each act of quiet service nobody notices, is a brick removed. This is not a one-time event but a daily discipline described in Luke 9:23 as taking up the cross every single day.
Humility Expressed in Practical Community Life
The Pastor grounds this teaching in everyday church life. He instructs believers to call their elders when sick rather than waiting passively at home, to allow a pastor or mentor to speak corrective words without severing the relationship out of wounded pride, and to serve whenever and wherever a need presents itself regardless of status. He illustrates this with a personal story of arriving early at a neglected church, finding a broom, cleaning the entire building alone, and then greeting everyone who arrived, with no one knowing he was the invited speaker until he stepped to the pulpit.
An Urgent Exhortation for the Season Ahead
The Pastor closes with a prophetic note of urgency, warning that the coming season will require believers to know the voice of the Holy Spirit intimately because events are unfolding that will demand Spirit-led discernment rather than self-reliance. He calls for fasting as a practical tool to deepen intimacy with God, and he frames humility not merely as a virtue but as the strategic key that opens the believer to the glory of God resting on their life. The invitation to salvation at the close is itself framed as the ultimate act of humility, surrendering self-rule to Jesus as Lord, owner, master, and ruler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is humility so important in the Christian life?
Humility is important because it is the posture God modeled from the very beginning, kneeling in the dirt to breathe life into Adam, and the pattern Jesus followed from the manger to the cross. Scripture is direct in 1 Peter 5:6-7: humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time. Without humility, pride acts as a fortress that blocks intimacy with God and prevents believers from fulfilling the purpose love created them for.
What does the Bible say about God opposing the proud?
James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 both state that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This means that pride is not merely a character flaw but a posture that places a person in direct opposition to God Himself. Conversely, choosing humility opens the believer to an increased measure of God’s grace, favor, and ultimately to the exaltation He promises to those who willingly lower themselves before Him.
What is the difference between humility and thinking less of yourself?
True humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less, as the Pastor explains in this sermon. A believer who understands their identity in Christ actually has a higher view of themselves, knowing they are created in God’s image, blessed with all spiritual blessings, and made righteous through Christ. Humility simply means that this God-given identity does not need to be defended, proven, or promoted because God Himself promises to exalt those who humble themselves before Him.
How did Jesus demonstrate humility throughout His life?
Jesus demonstrated humility at every stage of His earthly life. He was born not in a palace but in a stable and laid in a feeding trough. He entered Jerusalem not on a war horse but on the foal of a donkey. He knelt to wash His disciples’ feet and declared in Mark 10:45 that He came not to be served but to serve. He endured torture and crucifixion without opening His mouth in self-defense, making Himself obedient to the point of death, as described in Philippians 2:8.
What does it mean to humble yourself before God?
To humble yourself before God means to acknowledge that you cannot run your own life effectively apart from Him, to submit your will to His, and to allow Him to be Lord, owner, master, and ruler as the Hebrew word Adonai implies. It means making that submission public when necessary, accepting correction from others, and serving wherever there is a need without requiring recognition. Luke 9:23 frames this as a daily practice of denying self and taking up the cross to follow Jesus.
What role does humility play in receiving healing?
James 5:14-15 teaches that those who are sick should call for the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil, and the prayer of faith will save the sick. The Pastor emphasizes that this requires humility on the part of the believer. Rather than staying home passively or expecting the pastor to be a mind reader, the believer must take the humble step of reaching out, calling for prayer, and allowing others to minister to them, trusting that the promise of healing is connected to that posture of dependence.
How is pride a barrier to salvation and relationship with God?
Pride is the primary barrier to salvation because receiving Christ requires publicly confessing that you cannot run your own life and need a savior, which is an act of humiliation. Matthew 10:32-33 shows that publicly confessing Christ before others is non-negotiable. Beyond salvation, ongoing pride keeps believers from the intimate relationship with God that love intended, replacing genuine encounter with religious routine. Andrew Murray noted that many Christians pray for humility while simultaneously praying to avoid anything that would actually humble them.
What is a bond servant and why does it matter for Christians?
A bond servant in the biblical context is not a servant of duty or compulsion but a servant of love. In Philippians 2:7 Jesus took the form of a bond servant, meaning He chose to serve out of love rather than obligation. The Pastor uses this concept to contrast genuine relationship with God, motivated by love and intimacy, against religious performance motivated by duty or self-interest. Believers are called to the same posture: serving God and others freely because love created them and love now compels them.
