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Your Attitude Reveals Your Estimate of Yourself and God

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• All right, if you will open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 32 and verse 10. Genesis 32 and verse 10. The title of the message is "Your Attitude Reveals Your Estimate of Yourself and God." Think about that title. Your attitude reveals your estimate of yourself and God. So if you look in Genesis 32 and verse 10, Jacob is praying and he says, "I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant."

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• "For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands." There are all kinds of programs on the market today that teach what is known as self-worth, self-esteem, self-improvement, and a good self-image. The trend is to magnify and enlarge our self-consciousness to the fact that we are indeed what we would call worthy individuals and that we should be extremely proud of ourselves. In fact, if you follow most of those trends, you would become not only extremely proud, but also to the point of defiance. So if anyone then spoke ill of your self-improvement, your self-image, your self-worth, you're almost ready to fight instantly.

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• Now, I do understand and know that we are creatures of God and we are made in His image. Humanly speaking, our worth is from the hands of our Maker. We have no worth in and of ourselves. Thus, to think anything else is nothing more than pride. The Bible says in Psalm 100 and verse 3, "Know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us and not we ourselves."

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• "We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." So pride, of course, is an abomination to God. And it also destroys our character and produces strife and wrath. So let me just give you a few verses to begin with. Everyone can quote Proverbs 16 and verse 18 where the Bible said, "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." But there are other verses. For instance, Proverbs 16 and verse 5, "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord."

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• "And though hand be joined in hand, he shall not be unpunished." And then Proverbs 16 verse 19, "Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud." And then of course, the famous verse in Proverbs 21 and verse 4, "A high look and a proud heart and the plowing of the wicked is sin." I've got two other verses. The next one is Proverbs 21 and verse 24 where the Bible says, "Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath." And then of course Proverbs 28 and verse 25, "He that is proud of heart stirreth up strife, but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat." Now I've often quoted Genesis chapter 32 and verse 10 and it has always made an impression upon me. But just in the last week or two, I've been reading back through the book of Genesis again, and I was really looking forward to getting to Genesis chapter 32, for I knew what was in that chapter.

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• And when I read Genesis 32, verse 10 literally jumped out and grabbed me and would not allow me to leave it. So I've preached three sermons basically dealing with humility. And although that is going to be involved in today's message, it is not quite just that subject. But I have preached three messages. First of all, I preached one message on humility and obedience. I preached another message, humility and revival. And the third message was simply biblical humility. So in our text, in Genesis 32 and verse 10, we have humility illustrated in attitude and actions.

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• I suppose you understand that it's impossible to be humble and proud at the same time. Likewise, it is also impossible to see yourself as you should. Let me go back and rephrase this. It's impossible to see yourself as you should in a biblical manner without seeing God as who He is. And you can reverse that. It's impossible to have a biblical view of God and see God as to who He is without also having a biblical view of yourself.

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• You remember that passage in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah said, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up and His train filled the temple." It was in that passage. He also saw the seraphim. They had six wings. With twain they covered their eyes, with twain they covered their feet, with twain they did fly, and they ceased not saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts." And what did Isaiah say? Isaiah said, "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the Lord of hosts."

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• So when you have a biblical view of God, you're inevitably going to have a biblical view of yourself. If you have a biblical view of yourself, you're inevitably going to have a biblical view of God. So a true theological and biblical view of God will inevitably give you a true theological and biblical view of yourself. This is why I said that it is your attitude that is going to demonstrate and manifest your estimate of yourself and your estimate of God as well.

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• So in the context of Genesis chapter 32, Jacob is heading home after 20 years. He served Laban 14 years for his two wives, Leah and Rachel. And then he served Laban an additional six years for the cattle that God had given him. He was also wrongly treated by Laban during that time as well. In fact, if you look in Genesis chapter 31 and verse 7, you see what Jacob says to his two wives. Genesis 31 and verse 7. He says this, "And your father hath deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God suffered him not to hurt me." So when he said the ringstraked cattle to be yours, well, then he changed it to the spotted. Ten times he changed on him. And if you look in Genesis 31 and verse 41, again now Jacob is telling this to Laban. He says, "Thus have I been twenty years in thy house. I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters and six years for thy cattle, and thou hast changed my wages ten times." So notice Jacob now has been wrongly treated. God has appeared to Jacob and told him to return home. Now the interesting thing is when you get to Genesis chapter 32, Jacob

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• knows that he's going to face Esau and he hears that Esau is coming with four hundred men. In fact, we see his normal reaction. If you look in verse 7 of Genesis 32, "Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And he divided the people that was with him and the flocks into two herds, and the camels into two bands, and said, If Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape." So notice the Bible says he was greatly afraid and distressed. We certainly understand fear. But I want you to note the word distressed. The Hebrew word happens to be the word yatsar, and it literally means not only to be distressed, but it also means to be in straits. If you and I were to use the language that Jacob was using then, today, we would say, he's in a tight spot. We would say he's in a dangerous spot. We would say he's between a rock and a hard place. In other words, it's going to be difficult for Jacob to get out of the position that he's in.

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• So Jacob then goes to prayer over this situation. So if you look in verse 9, "Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee." Now it's in this verse that we begin to see Jacob's estimate of God and his estimate of himself. I want you to pay close attention to verse 9 because Jacob says, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac." Hmm, he's addressing God as the God of his ancestors. Jacob discerns himself as so completely unworthy in this passage, he does not even say that God is his God, although all the covenantal blessings were descended upon Jacob through Abraham and Isaac. So I want you to note what he is doing. So in verse 9, he is pleading the covenantal relationship that he is in, that God initiated between Abraham, and then it went to Isaac, and now to him.

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• Moreover, he says, "You said to me, Lord, return into thy country and thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee." So now he's also claiming the promise of God. This is in light of Esau coming to him with 400 men. So let me just give you another passage. I want you to hold Genesis 32. But I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. And I want you to look closely at verses 20 and 21 because Jacob is relying upon the covenantal blessings that God had given to Abraham and to Isaac. So we may also rely upon covenantal blessings, but let me show you how. Notice Hebrews 13 verse 20, "Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant." Now note, if you would, the everlasting covenant. What in the world is God going to do for us, in us, through the Lord Jesus Christ?

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• He said in verse 21, "Make you perfect, mature, or complete in every good work." Look at that now, "to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." So ask yourself these questions: Do you have a desire to be holy? Do you have a desire to be obedient and submissive and godly? Do you have a desire to worship and honor God? Do you have a desire to actually please God? The thing I want you to note is all of these desires are biblical and they come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• So it's absolutely necessary, then, when you and I go to prayer, like Jacob, we plead the covenant. But our covenant is that eternal covenant that God has made with His Son, the Lord Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit. And it is through the Lord Jesus and through that covenant that He works in us everything that is well-pleasing in His sight. So here's the question. If we come to God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, pleading the covenant and asking for the blessings of God in our lives, what should be our attitude? Should we come to God in prayer with an attitude of pride? "Well, I am a child of God." Should we come to God with an attitude of obligation? "God, You owe me." Should we come to God with an attitude of demand? So here's a simple principle that is going to be enunciated very clearly in Genesis chapter 32. I want you to listen to this: God does not owe you anything. God does not owe me anything. God does not owe anyone anything but justice, and I can assure you that we do not want that at all.

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• Now, I want you to notice back in the book of Genesis, if you will go back there. After Jacob had said, "I'm not worthy of the least of thy mercies," when he meets Esau, Esau asks him about his family and, of course, you know Jacob has tried to please him with all kind of cattle that he sent as a present. So if you look in Genesis chapter 33 and verse 5, Esau, of course, sees his wives and his children. "And he lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said," that is to Jacob, "Who are those with thee?" He said, "The children which God hath graciously given to thy servant." Now look, if you would, down to verse 8. Look at verse 8. "And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in thy sight, my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother. Keep that thou hast to thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, receive my present at my hand. For therefore I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me." Now watch

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• it. "Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee, because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it." Now the word graciously is the Hebrew word chanan, and it literally means to show favor, to be gracious, to be kind, to be merciful. So here is what Jacob is saying to Esau. My family, my children, my grandchildren, everything I have in my family is by the grace of God. He was merciful to me. He gave me these children. And then when he urged Esau to take the blessing of all those cattle, he says, "God has graciously given them to me." In other words, all of his possessions, everything that he had, was not by merit, not by desert. Although Jacob worked for it and he worked like a dog, but he is saying, "God gave me everything that I am and everything that I have." So I want you to think about this. God does not owe us life. He does not owe us breath.

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• He does not owe us a home. He does not owe us happiness. He does not owe us success. He does not owe us provision. He does not owe us a family. He does not owe us even friends. It is impossible to bring God into obligation to us. So if you would hold Genesis 32, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. And I want you to look at verses 33 through 36. Romans 11. Look at this, Romans 11, beginning there with verse 33. The word of God says this: "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

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• For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counselor, or who hath instructed God?" Now look at verse 35. "Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." Do you realize it's impossible for you to first give to God? Because it was God who gave you life. It was God who loved you from eternity. Everything that you have, everything that I have is from God Himself. It is the gift of God and God has given it to us in grace and in mercy. So if you look back now to Genesis 32 and verse 10, here's what Jacob is saying.

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• "I'm not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant." So Jacob now has pleaded the covenant that God had made with Abraham and Isaac and which had descended upon him. And I want you to note what he said in verse 10, "I am not worthy." Now the Hebrew word for worthy is the word katon, and it literally means to be small and insignificant.

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• Now, I hope you know that the Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. Anytime you see the Roman numerals LXX, which stands for 70, it's because the word Septuagint means 70, because it was translated by 70 scholars in Alexandria. Even our Lord and the disciples quoted from the Septuagint. When you look at the word worthy in the Septuagint, it happens to be the Greek word hikanos. And that word means one that is not sufficient, one that is not fit, one that is not meet, one that is not suitable. So literally what Jacob is saying, "I'm not suitable. I'm not meet. I'm not fit for the least of thy mercies." Not the least one.

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• I hope that brings to your mind a passage that I've quoted many, many times: Lamentations 3 verses 22 and 23. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions they fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness." So the only thing that keeps us from being consumed is the mercies and the compassions of God that are new every morning. So I want you to look at this now. Look, if you would, at verse 9, verse 10, and verse 11. Let's see this together. In verse 9, "And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee." Look what he says now. "I'm not worthy. I'm not meet. I'm not fit. I'm not sufficient of the least of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands." Now look at verse 11. "Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother,

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• from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children." Wow. So Jacob then deemed himself unfit, even for life, for health, or anything. He said, "I'm not meet for the least of thy mercies." Do you realize that this has been basically the attitude of godly men down through biblical history? You remember in Genesis 18, God is speaking to Abraham and Abraham is speaking to God about Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah. And of course, Abraham has been interceding for Lot and for Sodom and Gomorrah. And in Genesis 18, verse 27, "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." Now that was Abraham's estimate of himself. "I'm dust and ashes." How about this one in Psalm 22 and verse 6? David said, "I am a worm and no man." And you remember when Saul was chasing David, David likened himself to a flea, to a partridge. He said, "Why are you chasing a flea?

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• Why are you chasing a partridge? I'm not worth anything." Goodness, how about Agur in Proverbs 30 verse 2? He said, "Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man." He said, "I'm like a dumb animal. I don't have any understanding." Wow! And when you get to Luke 5 in verse 8, when Peter saw the Lord, he fell down at Jesus' feet, the Bible says, saying, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."

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• Now the word sinful there is from the Greek word hamartolos, which literally means a sinner, a wicked man, a sinful man, one which is preeminently sinful. So he said, "Lord, depart from me. I am so wicked. I don't even deserve your presence."

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• Now, when you think about Abraham, "dust and ashes," David, "I'm a worm," Agur, "I'm more brutish than any man," Peter, "I'm a sinful man," when you think about men with attitudes like this and you compare that with the attitude of the Pharisees—you remember that passage in Luke chapter 18. In fact, if you want to turn there very quickly in Luke chapter 18, look at verses 10 through 14. Luke 18, beginning there in verse 10. Look at what our Lord says. Luke 18 verse 10. Our Lord says, "Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week.

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• I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And our Lord says, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

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• So notice, if you would, here's the Pharisee. What is he saying? "I thank thee, Lord. I'm not as other men." In other words, "I am worthy of anything and everything because I'm not an extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not like this publican. Why, Lord, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess." Now when you stop and think about Jacob, when you stop and think about David and Abraham and Peter, these men were not just debasing themselves. They were not just simply belittling themselves. They were not pretending. No, no. They recognized their insignificance. They recognized their low estate. They recognized their position before a holy, majestic, and sovereign God. And so Jacob and David and Agur and Peter and the publican simply recognize this one simple truth: God doesn't owe us anything. And I do not deserve anything.

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• That's what they were recognizing. So let this sink into your hearts today. I want you to think about this. If you believe that God owes you, if you believe that God is indebted to you, if you believe that you deserve to be treated better than you are, then you've never seen yourself as a lost, miserable, depraved, and wicked sinner. And you have no idea of your depravity and of God's infinite holiness. In other words, if you believe that God really owes you something, you're lost. You're unsaved.

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• You are not a Christian. You have never, ever seen yourself. Now, listen. Deserts and obligations are based upon debt and works. So I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 11, and I want you to look at Paul's argument. Look in Romans chapter 11. Romans 11 and let's begin reading there verse 1 just so you can see how he argues this. Romans 11 verse 1, look at this. He says, "I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew.

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• Know ye not what the scripture saith of Elijah, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets and digged down thine altars, and I am left alone and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Now watch carefully. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace. Otherwise work is no more work." That's what he's saying. You cannot combine works and grace. If you believe that God owes you something, it means then that you have performed some type of work for God and He therefore is obligated to pay you, which is impossible. So the Apostle Paul said you are what you are and you have what you have only

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• by the grace of God. It is that simple. So if God owes you, it has to be based upon works and merit. He does not owe you anything. And yet what God does is He sustains us. He nourishes us. He takes care of us. He protects us all through His grace and mercy and compassion. And none of us deserve the least of this. Do you realize that the best and the greatest, and I will even say the godliest of men, do not deserve one thing from God?

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• When you stop and think about this, how many sins do you have to commit before you're a sinner? One. How many sins do you have to commit before you're condemned? One. How many sins do you have to commit before you have consigned yourself to hell? One. You and I have not just committed one sin. In fact, the scripture says if we've broken one part of the law, we're guilty of all. We've not just committed one sin. We've committed thousands and possibly even millions of sins in our lifetime. And if we got what we deserved, I don't think we would want it.

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• But what has God done? He has graciously taken care of us and supplied our needs over and over and over.

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• Now, if you look back at Genesis chapter 32, I want you to look at the context of this. Look what he says. Verse 10, "I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands." Now look at his request. "Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude." Now, when he said in verse 10, "I'm not worthy of the least of thy mercies, I'm not fit, I'm not meet to receive anything," why is he saying that? Because he is about to ask God for a tremendous mercy. He is about to ask God for His divine and sovereign protection from Esau.

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• He said, "I'm afraid of my brother. I'm afraid of Esau. I'm afraid he's going to kill me and kill my wives and kill my children. Lord, I don't deserve anything, and Lord, I realize that, but Lord, I'm asking You again for Your protection." Wow. So he's not only relying then upon the covenant, but he's also relying upon the specific promise that God gave him when He said, "Return, and I will make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude." So he's acknowledging now his unworthiness even in asking for God's protection.

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• So self-denial and self-abasement should become us in all of our addresses to the throne of grace. And Jacob speaks of mercies in the plural. There are abundant mercies. God had shown him a multitude of mercies. Jacob is basically saying, "I'm not worthy of the least of my mercies, much less now am I worthy of this great favor that I'm asking You to protect me from Esau."

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• So here are two truths that we must hold side by side. Number one, it is only the Lord Jesus Christ that makes us worthy. However, we in and of ourselves are completely and totally unworthy. So here the two truths is this: Jesus Christ alone is worthy. Jesus Christ alone is the one who makes us worthy. But if we come to God in and of ourselves, we are unworthy completely, totally, and absolutely because our worthiness is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ, because there is absolutely nothing that we can do in and of ourselves that will make us worthy in the sight of God.

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• Now, I realize that there are many Christians that perform what you and I would call good works and good deeds. But you know what the Bible says? Isaiah 26 in verse 12. He said it like this: "Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us, for Thou hast wrought all our works in us." So any good thing that comes out of us, any good thing that comes through us, is only because of the grace of God that has been worked in us and the mercy and the blessing of God. Now I want to show you this in the New Testament. I want to show you a good illustration of what I just said. So I want you to hold Genesis 32 but turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 7, if you would please. Luke chapter 7. And I want to read the first 10 verses. I love this passage. I've preached on it many times. But this is the centurion. So notice in Luke chapter 7 beginning there with verse 1, "Now when He had ended all of His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum.

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• And a certain centurion's servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die. Look at this now. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto Him the elders of the Jews, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying that he, that is the centurion, was worthy for whom He should do this.

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• For he loveth our nation and has built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them, and when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not Thyself, for I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee, but say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

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• For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say unto one, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh. And to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned Him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent returning to the house found the servant whole that had been sick.

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• I want you to notice something in verse 4. When those Jews came to Jesus, they besought Him instantly, saying that he, the centurion, was worthy for whom this miracle should be accomplished. Okay, what did they base their worthiness upon, or the worthiness of the centurion? What did they base their attitude and estimate of the centurion upon? Verse 5: "For he loveth our nation, and he built us a synagogue."

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• Now, the interesting thing is this. In verse 4, when they said he is worthy, it is the Greek word axios, which means worthy, befitting, congruous, corresponding unto, or something that is merited. So, here's what they're saying. He loves our nation. He's built a synagogue, and therefore that merits this miracle that should be done for him on his servant. That's what they were saying, that he deserves it. However, when you skip down to verse 6, "Then Jesus went with them, and when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not Thyself, for I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee, but say the word, and my servant shall be healed." Now, the word worthy in verse 6 and verse 7 is a totally, completely different word than that which is used in verse 4.

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• Now, I'm sure you don't remember this, but I'm going to tell you. When Jacob said in Genesis 32 in verse 10, "I'm not worthy of the least of thy mercies," I gave you the Hebrew word. Then I gave you the Greek word from the Septuagint. "I'm not meet. I'm not fit. I don't deserve this." That is exactly the same word that is used in verse 6 and verse 7. So on the one hand, the Jews said he's worthy because he loves our nation. He's built us a synagogue.

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• In other words, he merits this. He said, "Lord, I'm not worthy. I'm not even worthy for You to enter under the roof of my house, much less do this for me. No. I am not worthy." In other words, here is the attitude that he had when he came to our Lord. The centurion said, "I'm not meet. I'm not fit. I'm not sufficient. Lord, I don't even deserve You to come under my roof, much less do this miracle that I'm asking You to do." So here's the truth.

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• What others think and say of us is not nearly as important as what we think and know of ourselves. One sin is sufficient to make us a sinner. One sin is sufficient to make us unworthy. And if we really had a correct biblical view of ourselves, of our sin, and of our depravity, we would be willing to physically fight the Apostle Paul for the position of chief of sinners. Paul said he was chief, but if we really understood our sin, we'd say, "No, Paul, you're so far behind us. We're number one. We're the chief of sinners." So if we have the correct biblical view of sin and our sinfulness, we're not going to say that God owes us anything. We're not going to say that we deserve anything. We're not going to say that God is obligated to us. If we have the correct estimate of ourselves, we're going to see that everything that we are and everything that we have is only by the grace and the mercy of God.

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• Now, before I leave Luke 7, let me just say there is another biblical principle here that we need to understand. You remember the Jews said in verse 4, "He is worthy." Then in verses 6 and 7, he says, "I am not worthy." The Bible says in the book of Proverbs chapter 27 in verse 2, "Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." So he's saying if someone is going to talk about you, your holiness, your godliness, your obedience, let it be a stranger, let it be someone else. So if you have to tell me how humble you are, you're not. If you have to tell me how holy you are, you're not.

  #48 | 42:35 to 43:22 | cleaned

• In other words, it is our attitude and our actions that demonstrate the truth of our lives, and others see that, and they're the ones that acknowledge it and confess it. So it's one thing then for others to see and admire the grace and the mercy of God in our lives. And it's quite another thing for you and I to boast and blow ourselves up with pride and say, "Well, let me tell you what I have done." And then we begin to extol ourselves and heap praises upon ourselves.

  #49 | 43:24 to 44:00 | cleaned

• And in doing so, we're stealing God's honor and God's glory. Now, there's another passage that I think is so important in light of this, and I'm just going to mention this to you just so that you can understand exactly where I'm coming from. There is a passage in Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. I want you to look there. Mark chapter 7 and notice, if you would please, beginning there with verse 25. Look at this, Mark 7 verse 25. "For a certain woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard of Him and came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician

  #50 | 44:01 to 44:53 | cleaned

• by nation, and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled. For it is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto Him, Yea, Lord, yet the dogs eat under the table the children's crumbs. And He said unto her, For this saying, go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out of her daughter and laid upon the bed.

  #51 | 44:53 to 45:26 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to note this, if you would. I want you to note her attitude. She was a Greek. She was a Syrophoenician. She was not an Israelite. So basically, she really did not have any claim upon Jesus Christ. And our Lord even told her that she was an outsider. He not only told her she was an outsider, He called her a dog. I know the Greek word happens to be kunarion, which means little dog. And when He called her dog, here was her attitude: "Truth, Lord. Yet the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children under the table." You know what she was saying? "I'm willing to be Your little dog. I'm willing to

  #52 | 45:27 to 46:32 | cleaned

• take any crumb You throw me. I know I'm not worthy. I don't deserve anything. But I'll eat all the crumbs that You drop." That was her attitude. She, like Jacob, was confessing her unworthiness. And she said, "I'll take the crumbs. If that's all You've got for me, Lord, I'll take that." Isn't that amazing?

  #53 | 46:32 to 47:12 | cleaned

• Now, our Lord said concerning this woman in the book of Matthew, "O daughter, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And the Bible said her daughter was healed from that very hour. I want you to go back to Genesis 32, because I want to make some applications. And here's the first one. I want you to take note of Jacob's prayer. Verse 9, "And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee. I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies or of all the truth which Thou hast shown unto Thy servant.

  #54 | 47:13 to 47:59 | cleaned

• For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children." I want you to notice how short Jacob's prayer was. He was not praying all over the world. He was not praying for everybody in the world. His prayer was very short and very pointed. Moreover, he was very, extremely earnest.

  #55 | 47:59 to 48:33 | cleaned

• I would say in this his appeal was made to God on the basis of a standing covenantal relation that he had through Abraham and Isaac. So in other words, it's just like when you and I come to God the Father, we plead that eternal covenant of grace which we have in Jesus Christ. Wow. He also pleads a special promise that God gave him on a safe return. And so when you look at this, it's a most humble and affecting confession of unworthiness. It breathes an earnest desire for deliverance from impending danger. It was a prayer of a loving husband, of a loving father, of someone who wanted to see the glory of God and the will of God accomplished in his life.

  #56 | 48:33 to 49:27 | cleaned

• And he was confessing, "I don't deserve the least of these Thy mercies." Wow. Here's the second one. If you would notice that Jacob freely confessed his fear of Esau and asked God for his protection. He said, "Lord, deliver me from Esau, for I fear him." We should not be shy in telling God our fears. Number one, He already knows them. And number two, He's really the only one who can correct them in our lives. He's told us so many times in the Bible, "Fear not." And the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7. But yet by nature, we fear certain things. And we just have to say, "Lord, I'm fearful in this area. Please help me. Please deliver me." God already knows our fears. And so we need to confess those fears and seek His aid.

  #57 | 49:28 to 50:41 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to go back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 27, because here's the third application. And I want you to pay close attention to this one. And that is this: We must learn that we cannot run from our problems. Problems must be resolved. They do not go away. If you try to run from your problem, you may escape it temporarily, but you will meet it farther down the road with an increased magnitude and increased intensity. Now, the problem was in Genesis 27, verse 41, Esau was planning on murdering Jacob because Jacob stole the blessing. Look at it, verse 41: "And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my brother are at hand. Then will I slay my brother Jacob." Now I know and you know that Jacob deceived Isaac his father and got the blessing. But in reality, the blessing went with the birthright. And Esau despised his birthright and already sold that birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage.

  #58 | 50:42 to 52:14 | cleaned

• And Jacob knew that Esau would never, ever give him that blessing willingly. And yes, he did deceive him.

  #59 | 52:16 to 52:26 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to watch this. It could have been probably resolved one-on-one, face-to-face. It probably could have been resolved not just between Jacob and Esau, but with Isaac and Rebekah there too, because both of them were well. But Jacob decided to run. What could have been resolved one-on-one, it's now 400 to 1. Wow. Look what Rebekah said. Look in Genesis 27 verse 42: "And these words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, proposing to kill thee.

  #60 | 52:28 to 53:31 | cleaned

• Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, and flee thou to Laban, my brother in Haran, and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away. Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee and he forget that which thou hast done to him. Then will I send and fetch thee from thence. Why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?" So she says, "You go. You go for a few days." Do you remember how long the few days were? Twenty years. Twenty years. She never saw Jacob again.

  #61 | 53:32 to 54:15 | cleaned

• If you look in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 35, Genesis 35 and verse 27: "And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were a hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac gave up the ghost and died and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him." So Esau and Jacob did indeed bury Isaac. Isaac was alive when Jacob came back. Now if you would turn over to Genesis chapter 48, and Jacob is about to die. Actually, it's 49, I think. Let's see. Yes, Genesis 49. Look, if you would please, beginning of verse 29. Jacob is about to die. He's blessing his sons. "And he charged them and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in

  #62 | 54:16 to 55:48 | cleaned

• the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place. Now look what he says. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife." Wait a minute. We know that he was there to help bury Isaac, but not Rebekah. "There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife. And there I buried Leah." What?

  #63 | 55:49 to 56:16 | cleaned

• So this few days happened to be twenty years, and she never, ever saw Jacob again. Not alive. So we have to learn to face our problems. When we run from them, they just increase in magnitude and intensity. Problems will not disappear. They will not go away. They must be resolved in a biblical manner.

  #64 | 56:17 to 56:50 | cleaned

• Now, I want to show you one other verse. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 44, if you would please. Jeremiah 44. And I want you to look at verse 10. Jeremiah 44 and verse 10. God is speaking against Israel. So the truly humble soul will evidence itself with an attitude of unworthiness, an attitude acknowledging God's graciousness, God's mercy, God's favor. But that's not all. Jeremiah 44, look in verse 10 at what God says. God says, "They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared nor walked in My law nor in My statutes that I set before you and before your fathers." So a truly humbled heart will have an attitude and disposition of unworthiness and will seek to obey simply because such a heart realizes it can never be worthy, but it will seek to obey out of a heart of love and gratitude for the gracious favor and mercies of God. And do you understand?

  #65 | 56:51 to 58:14 | cleaned

• If we realize how unworthy we are and we do not deserve anything, it will enable us to be grateful and thankful and appreciative for anything and everything. It's just like that Syrophoenician woman. "Lord, I'll take the crumbs. I'll be happy with the crumbs. Because I don't even deserve the crumbs." Your attitude reveals your estimate of yourself and your estimate of God. If you count yourself worthy, then you count God as unworthy. If you count yourself unworthy, then you'll count God as worthy. He will deserve all the honor, all the glory, and all praise. What did Jacob pray? "I am not worthy of the least of Thy mercies and of all Thy truth which Thou hast shown unto Thy servant." That is the kind of attitude that God blesses and God honors, because it is a truthful, biblical attitude that will enable us to see the greatness and the majesty and the sovereignty and the mercy of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray to Thee. We thank You for Your word, we thank You for Your truth, and we ask, Lord, that You would indeed help us to see ourselves, Lord.

  #66 | 58:16 to 1:00:09 | cleaned

• Help us to see the greatness of Thyself and of all the mercies and all the kindnesses that You've bestowed upon us that we do not deserve. We do not deserve life or health or family or friends, success, possessions. We do not deserve anything, Lord, in and of ourselves. But we're thankful, Father, that we have been made worthy through the Lord Jesus Christ and adopted into Thy family. And Lord, we pray that You would help us to give Thee all praise and honor and glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:56:44Z