Humbled and Exalted
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evil-doers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ - Luke 18:11-13 NIV
Looking towards Christ, choose to:
1. Uplift rather than put down.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. - Ephesians 4:29 NIV
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk 10 and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. - Isaiah 58:9-10 NIV
2. Have confidence without arrogance.
To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior, and perverse speech. - Proverbs 8:13 NIV
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. - Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13 NLT
3. Keep our eyes on Christ.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14:26 NIV
But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall - 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 NLT
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. - 1 John 4:1
