Everyone Who Exalts Himself Luke 14:7-11 and 1 Kings 1 (Video)

Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11). This is one of the most common themes in Scripture: "God puts down one and exalts another" (Psalm 75:6), "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up," (James 4:10), "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). Adonijah is a perfect Old Testament example of disobeying this teaching. First Kings 1:5 says, "Adonijah exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king.'" He took the best place and had to give it up to someone more honorable than him: Solomon. Then with shame he had to take the lowest place (Luke 14:7-10). Table of ContentsFamily Worship Guide for Everyone Who Exalts HimselfSermon Notes for Everyone Who Exalts HimselfLesson One: Humility can prevent humiliation.Lesson Two: Adonijah exalted himself and was humbled.Lesson Three: Solomon was moved up higher and honored in the presence of all.Lesson Four: Jesus is the premier example of humility followed by exaltation. https://youtu.be/nlh8RbOJz9Y Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled" (Luke 14:11). This is a common theme in Scripture that should challenge all of us. Family Worship Guide for Everyone Who Exalts Himself Family Worship Guide Memory Verse: Luke 14:11 Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions: Day 1: Luke 14:7-11 cf. Mark 12:38-39, Psalm 75:6-7, James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Philippians 2:3-4—Even though we might not care where we sit, how does Jesus’s parable apply to us? Do we have any pursuits that show an obsession with position or status? How can humility help prevent humiliation? Can you think of a time pride caused you embarrassment? Day 2: 1 Kings 1:1-27—Why was Adonijah such a prideful young man? Contrast the way Adonijah tried to obtain the throne with the way David, his father, received the throne. In what way(s) was Adonijah humbled? How does Jesus’s parable apply to Adonijah? Why did Adonijah’s friends abandon him? Day 3: 1 Kings 1:28-49, Proverbs 29:2, Philippians 2:6-11—How was Solomon exalted? Why do you think God chose Solomon over Adonijah? How is Jesus the premier example of humility followed by exaltation? Describe how Jesus humbled himself. Describe what Jesus’s exaltation will look like. Sermon Notes for Everyone Who Exalts Himself The title of this morning’s sermon is, “Everyone Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled.” On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse and we find ourselves at chapter 14, verses 7-11. Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word… Luke 14:7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” You may be seated. Let’s pray. This morning’s verses pick up right where last week’s verses left off with Jesus healing on the Sabbath. Look at verse 1… Luke 14:1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. Jesus is still dining at the house of this ruler of the Pharisees and verse 3 says… Luke 14:3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, Lawyers and other Pharisees are present. The end of verse 1 says they were watching [Jesus] closely, but while they watched him, he watched them too. Look at verse 7… Luke 14:7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited (this means invited to the Pharisees’ house), when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, The synagogues and assembly halls of the first century had benches around the outside wall and a few benches in front. Most of the congregation stood or sat cross-legged on the floor. There were a limited number of good seats and they were the ones the Pharisees always wanted… Mark 12:38 [Jesus] said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to…39 have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts. Where people sat said something about their prominence and importance. There was a “pecking order.” The most honored people sat closest to the host. Now maybe you say… “This doesn’t really apply to me, because I don’t care where I sit.” The issue was obsession with position or status, so this can apply to us: Do we care about position or status? Do we want to be noticed or praised? These are ways we choose the best places. Jesus continues… Luke 14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. Jesus warns if we take an honored seat for ourselves, someone more honorable might come along and we have to give up our seat for that person, which would be very embarrassing…and this brings us to lesson one… Lesson One: Humility can prevent humiliation. Sometimes one of the real blessings of humility IS the absence of humiliation! Have you ever noticed the most embarrassing moments in our lives usually involve pride? Saying something we shouldn’t have said Arguing when we should’ve admitted we were wrong Doing something people said we shouldn’t do, because we were being stubborn Imagine what this looked like in the parable… A man is invited to an important event. He arrives and sits in a very prestigious place, which causes everyone to see him. He sits up a little straighter, pushes his shoulders back, and looks around to see everyone noticing him. He’s feeling really good about himself. But then the host of the event asks him to move to make room for the important person who’s supposed to be sitting there. The man has to get up and move to a lower place with everyone watching, which would be humiliating. But here’s the important thing to notice… The humiliation doesn’t come from sitting in the lowest place. The humiliation comes from sitting in the place of honor and then having to move to a lower place in front of everyone….so they can all see you’re not quite as great as you thought you were. Humility would prevent this humiliation, which is why Jesus makes the recommendation in the next verse… Luke 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. Now imagine what this looks like… A man is invited to an important event. He arrives and sits in an insignificant place. Nobody notices him, but then the host of the event sees him and asks him to sit right next to him…which everyone notices. But let me be clear about one thing these verses are not guaranteeing, and one thing they are guaranteeing… These verses aren’t guaranteeing promotion in this life, although that’s a possibility. We could pursue humility and God could bless us with prominence and success, but I would not tell people that if they are humble they are going to be exalted. There have been plenty of people who pursued humility and were never exalted in this life as a result. But the verses are guaranteeing promotion in the next life. People who are not rewarded for their humility in this life, are rewarded in eternity. It takes two things to pursue the humility Jesus is prescribing: It takes faith. It takes trusting God instead of trusting ourselves. It takes patience. It takes waiting and not trying to manipulate circumstances ourselves. Jesus summarizes it this way… Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is one of the most common themes in Scripture: Psalm 75:6 Exaltation comes neither from the east, west, nor south. 7 But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another. Proverbs 25:6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, 7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up 1 Peter 5:5 All of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time When God says something this many times, we know it’s important. Pride gets us in trouble. It puts us at odds with God and makes Him resist us. Isn’t that a sobering thought? God opposing us? But if we pursue humility, God gives us grace, which is to say he works for us. Sometimes we are confused about what humility is and isn’t. Humility isn’t putting ourselves down and thinking terribly of ourselves. It’s not being Eeyore: “Thanks for noticing me.” Maybe you’ve heard this before… Humility isn’t thinking less of ourselves. Humility is thinking of ourselves less. Humility is preferring others to ourselves and putting them before us. That’s why 1 Peter 5:5 says, “be submissive to one another, and be clothed in humility.