Third Person Humility

Welcome to Sharper Sword, the publication ministry of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.

White House believes that individuals can reach their potential for the Lord as they grow in Christ.

We want to hear our Lord say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Let's join Pastor Doug Fisher as he preaches another important biblical message from the Word of God.

Take your Bible, look at Psalms 21.

Psalms 21, please, and also 1 Chronicles 17.

I'll watch your time.

We'll be out of here in good order tonight.

Psalms 21 and 1 Chronicles chapter number 17.

I'll go to Psalms 21 in a minute, but I want to read you something in 1 Peter.

You don't need to be there, you know it already.

You're in Psalms 21, please, and 1 Chronicles chapter 17.

1 Chronicles 17 · chapter mention

I want to read this to you, it's something that you already know, and then I want to make a little introduction.

It says, For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the who?

Say it?

Humble.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Brethren, the way to get closer to God, one of the avenues in to get closer to the Lord is humility.

Would you agree with that?

The road that has humility paved in it is a road that leads to a greater closeness to God.

And then that humility says, I resist the proud, but I give with grace to the humble, and I'll exalt you in due time.

I want to make a suggestion to you tonight.

It's not dogmatic doctrine.

I want to make you a suggestion tonight that you would study something and just consider it in the area of humility.

Now, again, I'm not trying to be dogmatic.

It's just a study that I would challenge you to do.

And God might show you just a little something as He's been showing me.

And it's changed just a little bit of something the way I approach the Lord now.

And I've been doing it for a little while.

And I'll just let you read it and study it, and then I'll leave it to you and see if the Holy Spirit of God shows you anything about it.

Psalms 21.

And in Psalms 21, it says this the king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord, and in thy salvation, how greatly shall he rejoice?

Thou hast given him his heart's desire.

Let me stop here for a moment so you get the context.

This is David writing about himself, but please listen, he's talking about himself in the third person.

When I was a Marine Corps Series commander down at Paris Island, the privates were never allowed to say I or me.

They would come before us and they would say the private requests.

Or the private fields this way.

And you say, that seems a little strange.

It was a way to teach them humility.

It was a way to teach them submission.

It was a way to say to the private that you're really a nobody private, and you'll refer to yourself as the private.

We don't want to hear I or me or my.

Now I'm not giving you this as a doctrine tonight, I'm giving you as a suggestion for study because he says this in verse number two thou hast given him, he was talking about himself, his heart's desire, and hast with not reholden the request of his lips, Selah.

For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness that settled a crown of pure gold on his head.

He asked life of thee, and thou gave it him, and length of days for ever and ever.

His glory is great, and thy salvation, honor, and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

He's talking about himself.

For thou hast made him, he's talking to the Lord now, for thou hast made him most blessed forever.

Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

Speaking about himself, he said, For the king trusteth in the Lord.

And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

David before God is speaking about what God has done for him, and it refers to himself in the third person.

Now, I'm not saying David doesn't say I once in a while, and me and my he does, but I want to tell you, if we could really understand who God is, we would go in as humble as we possibly could.

I want you to see something, and please watch what David says.

Look at 1 Chronicles 17.

1 Chronicles chapter 17.

1 Chronicles 17 · chapter mention

You say, what are you trying to say tonight?

I'm saying just considered the third person approach to God once in a while.

Maybe not all the time.

You'll see it in a moment.

Look at 1 Chronicles chapter 17.

1 Chronicles 17 · chapter mention

And notice if you would, verse 16, he'll use the word I, and then he'll go to the third person.

And David, the king, came, verse 16, and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I?

Who am I, O Lord God?

There's humility there.

Who am I, O Lord God?

And what is mine house that thou hast brought me hitherto?

And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God, for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while.

Brethren, right there in that phrase, you'll see it again and again and again.

Those that seem to be used in a great manner before the Lord, knowing who he is in this Bible.

And God depicts it here.

They often speak of themselves as thy servant, who has also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded.

Then he says the word me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God, what can David speak more to thee for the honor of thy servant?

For thou knowest thy servant.

Notice the third person, notice the humility, O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart hast thou done all this greatness in making all these things known.

I want to say to you, it's going to take a little while, but if you would study thy servant and look at the way people talk to the Lord in this book, and God records it, you'd almost see a third-person humility as they get closer in and closer in, the eyes and the meas and the my's seem to go out the window.

You say, now that's not that big a deal, preacher.

You think that that's important?

Look if you would stay with me.

Look at 1 Samuel 3.

1 Samuel 3, and this is key.

1 Samuel chapter 3.

1 Samuel 3 · chapter mention

You say, but this is old terminology.

Brother, I want to tell you something.

It's not old terminology.

In the New Testament, John refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Over and over and over again.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with saying me or my, but once in a while, it's nothing wrong when you get kind of humbled down just to say to the Lord, and if you'd listened to thy servant's prayer today, if you had blessed thy servant and hear thy servant, please.

There's a certain humility about that that I'd ask you to study because notice what happens.

Samuel is being trained.

And God records this.

And Samuel is brought before the Lord, and he's brought and dropped off, if you would, at the down with Eli at the at the place of Shiloh, there where the tabernacle is, and the lamp of God goes out.

And notice it says this, verse 7, watch.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord.

Neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

Watch it carefully.

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time.

He calls in verse 4, and the Lord called Samuel.

And Samuel says, Here am I?

And he ran unto Eli.

Here am I?

Verse 6.

The Lord called again, Samuel.

Samuel, and he said, Here am I?

Nothing wrong with that.

Nothing wrong at all.

But he goes to lay down again, and now it says in verse number eight that Samuel calls again the third time.

And he arose and he went to Eli and he said, Here am I.

And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child, and therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go lie down.

It shall be if he called thee.

That thou shalt say, Speak.

Lord, for thy servant heareth.

Humble yourself, Samuel, little child.

Say to the Lord, Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.

The third party humility.

Are you still listening tonight?

I'm not saying this is dogmatic.

I'm not saying you can't say I or me.

I'm suggesting to you that you study it a little bit.

I'm suggesting to you, you know what, brother?

I don't know about you, but I'd like to I'd like it says come boldly into the throne.

I don't want to walk in, I want to humble myself in.

It says, humble yourself in the in the in the in the sight of God.

Humble yourself.

And he'll exalt thee.

Brother, brother, and I'm not saying fake it, I'm saying when you realize who God is, it's not going to be a problem to say in a third person, speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.

And then he says, This, watch.

And the Lord came and stood and called at another time, Samuel, Samuel.

Then Samuel answered, Speak, for thy servant heareth.

And it began his conversation with God, and please listen, and God records it.

If God didn't want us to know that, he wouldn't have put it in there.

I'm not saying dogmatically that we're doing wrong if we say I or me or my before him.

I'm not saying that we're doing anything wrong.

I'm just saying if the Lord would show you something, that possibly a third-party way to speak to the Lord once in a while might be a humble way to approach him.

And I want you to know this.

It seems like those that got closer and closer to him, that God was pleased when they approached him sometimes in that third person.

Notice if you would, 1 Kings.

Look at 1 Kings chapter 3.

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

The message won't be long tonight.

1 Kings chapter 3.

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

This is Solomon's famous prayer, if you would.

And I'm not saying Solomon's famous, but God records this prayer and it sets up for Solomon something very, very important.

In 1 Kings chapter 3, starting with verse number 5.

1 Kings 3 · chapter mention

In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream.

He appears to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

And Solomon said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy.

Talks about David a little while and then says, Now he's, he's, he, thou hast given him a son, third party, to sit on his throne.

Verse 7, and now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David, my father.

And I am but a little child.

I know not how to go out or come in.

And thy servant is in the midst of the people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multiple.

Give therefore thy servant, third person, an understanding heart to judge thy people.

That I, now he refers to himself as I, so there's nothing wrong with saying I, me, or my, but notice he says that I may be certain to discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge this so great a people?

And the speech pleased the Lord.

I'm just saying to you this as a suggestion.

There's nothing wrong with when you pray to say, Lord, I'd like to pray in a in a more manner that might be pleasing to you.

And you put in your Bible often, it seems like, that many of your uh uh characters that you put in your Bible when you record their prayer, sometimes they'll say, I'm me or my, but sometimes they go into the third person and talk about thy servant, the king that thou hast set upon thy throne.

The the the the concept is that that I'm not gonna say I'm me or my so much.

It's it's you that's done it, Lord.

I'm just your servant.

I'll I'll read you a couple others.

Stay with me, if you would tonight.

Uh, Nehemiah, I think, was a very humble man.

He was the king's cupbearer, but here's what he prayed.

Just listen.

Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee day now, day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants.

And confess the sins of the children of Israel.

He refers to himself as the servants, and the the children of Israel as thy servants.

Brother, I want you to know something.

The title servant is a much higher title than we think.

What do you mean?

Brethren, servant.

When we think of servant, we think of, well, you know, you you didn't make the high rung.

When God says servant, he's hitting the high rung.

Jesus ministered unto his disciples and washed their feet.

And they didn't understand what he was doing.

And Peter was like, Don't do that, Lord.

That's that's what servants do.

And the Lord said to Peter, I'm giving you an example.

This is what you should be, this is what you should do.

I'm teaching what you ought to be, a minister, a servant.

I want to tell you something.

We need to change our mindsets around in the concept of servant.

Servant is a high title.

Servant, uh, uh uh, David was called the servant of the Lord so many times.

Nehemiah calls himself thy servant.

It's a humble title, but in God's opinion, it's a high title.

To be called a servant of the Lord, uh, for example, in the book of Job, he said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job?

All the way through the book of Job, God refers to Job as his servant.

Even when he's humbled down, even though he wished he wouldn't be born, he still refers to him before Satan as my servant.

Satan, if you would, knows Job as my servant, the servant of God.

And then when Eliphaz and Bildad and Zopher are called, especially Eliphaz, God says, You've not done according to what should be done to my servant Job.

He doesn't call Eliphaz, Bildad, and Job his servants.

He calls them, you've done folly, to my servant Job.

My servant is a high title.

I mean, to be able to come before the Lord and humble ourselves and be able to say, thy servant, it's like, it's like, Lord, I realize what you've made me, and I'm really satisfied being that.

To be owned by you, to be ministered to by you, to be listened to, to be able to come before your throne through the blood of Jesus Christ and be able to call myself thy servant like you own me, like you're my master.

What a wonderful title to have.

What a wonderful way to approach him.

Moses would say in the book of Deuteronomy, when he comes before him, he says, Oh Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant, thy greatness, and thy mighty hand for what God is there in heaven and on earth that can do according to thy works, according to thy might.

It's just that way of describing it.

And you say, it's that's old, that's just old stuff.

That's just their old culture.

But I want to tell you, there's nothing wrong with saying it the old way, then.

There's nothing wrong with approaching him the old way.

And I'm not saying we have to do that.

I'm just saying you might consider once in a while going before the Lord and say, it's just one of your one of your servants today, Lord.

Would you listen to thy servant, please?

I'm I'm glad, so glad to be called your servant.

You say you said the word I.

It's okay to say I.

But I'm glad to be called thy servant.

And if you would hear thy servants today, please bless thy servants as they as they minister out in the world today, as they work jobs, as they raise families, as they as they teach instructions.

Uh, please bless thy servants today that are praying to thee, O Lord.

Bless our church, which is a house full of servants that want to please you.

And bless us as we sing, and bless us as we come before you.

I say to you tonight in the book of Daniel, and I read this to you, Daniel, and you can just go on and on and on.

He says this, here's Daniel, who opened his windows three times a day and prayed.

Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon the sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's sake.

And he says, This, and while I was speaking and praying and confessing sin and the sin of my people Israel, presenting supplications before the Lord, yet while I was speaking in prayer, even Gabriel showed.

Even the man Gabriel.

What I'm saying is, God sent the angel to minister to Daniel to tell him what was to happen next.

I'm suggesting to you tonight, brethren, that there's nothing wrong with coming in a humble manner before the Lord, even in the third person of humility.

It'll feel a little awkward for a while.

It'll feel a little like, you know, this isn't not quite me.

Lord, I usually say I and me and my.

But I'm saying just as a suggestion, uh, go in the Bible, and I'm only giving you a little bit tonight.

Go in the Bible and look at every major character, and you'll see when they pray.

Oftentimes they refer to themselves in the third person, and God records it.

Come on, you still with me tonight?

I'm not saying you do wrong if you don't do it that way.

I'm just making a suggestion.

You may go out of here tonight and say, you know, the pastor got a little wacko tonight.

He must not had something to study.

No, I want to tell you something.

Little things, little things in our attitude of worship, little things in our personal prayer life, little things the way we present ourselves to God.

If if God records little young Samuel learning to pray and learning to communicate to God, and Eli the high priest, you said, Oh, that Eli, don't worry about Eli, look at what God recorded.

When he calls you again, say, Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.

Samuel's comment was, Speak.

Thy servant heareth.

Samuel didn't know him yet.

Samuel didn't know who he was yet.

Brother, the more you get to know God, the more you want to do all you can to say, you're this and I'm this.

You're this, and I'm just happy to be this.

Thank you that you would even call me thy servant.

Brother, and I remind you that even in the New Testament, Jesus said this, and I think it's a high compliment.

Please listen.

Now there's By the cross of Jesus, his mother, his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Cleophus, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved.

You know, John's writing that, but it's the Holy Ghost inspiring him to write it.

And John always often referred to himself as the other disciple or the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Why?

Because John seemed to have that connection with the Lord in kind of a special way because he was the one at the last Passover that leaned on Jesus' breast.

John liked that touch.

John liked that hug.

John liked that being loved.

John liked, I think he liked it when he said, the disciple whom Jesus loved.

Brother, he loved them all.

But he referred to himself as the, and he wasn't trying to say he only loves me.

What he was trying to say is, I'm so glad he loves me.

I'm the disciple that Jesus loved.

I just think John's personality was, you know, give me a hug.

And he was a little different with Peter.

And Peter and John are very close.

Verse 7.

Then said he to the disciple, Behold thy mother.

And from that hour that disciple took her under her home, uh, his home.

The idea was he referred to himself in the third person.

And then it says in the first day of the week when Jesus was risen, uh, Mary Magdalene, she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved.

So they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter.

He's talking about himself in the third person.

I don't know, there's just something humbling about that.

And I'm not saying it's dogmatic, I'm just making a suggestion that you go out of here tonight, and it's not about I and me and my and all that.

Although there's nothing wrong with saying that.

Come on, is that right?

But before the Lord, it might be good to say, speak, Lord.

Thy servant heareth.

And Lord, if you would bless thy servant's household today, in a manner which only you, only, only thy mercies would do.

Lord, bless thy servants tonight.

Bless us, but bless thy servants, and we're so glad to be called thy servants.

We're so happy to be in your service and co-laboring with you tonight that we even get to call ourselves the high, the high title of thy servant.

Now, listen, I'm gonna leave it there tonight.

But there's so many other, if you if you just take time, it would be maybe so repetitious.

But if you ever read and notice, once in a while, you'll see a prayer comes up and they're coming in close to the Lord.

Nehemiah was real strong in this area when he prayed.

He prayed in the third person often.

Let me tell you why I think Nehemiah was praying in the third person so often.

He was the king's cupbearer.

I doubt is the king's cupbearer before the king, if he ever referred to himself much as me or I.

I want to tell you something.

Uh, one day I stood in front of the general.

I hadn't done anything wrong.

He was commending me for something.

I was on Paris Island, and he was commending me for something that our unit had done, and I was to report to the general.

And when I reported in to the general, he was a two-star general.

And when I reported in to the general, I stood in front of him, and I was instructed by the general's aide to refer to myself as the lieutenant.

Why?

Because he was the general of the base.

He was the highest ranking military officer on that base.

And he had many, many years of service.

And he had many, many acts of valor.

How did you know that?

You can look at his ribbons and see it.

Anyone in the military, you can look at the ribbons and see a little bit about what they've done.

There's a code to it.

Some ribbons are I've been there.

What do you mean?

They're I've been there ribbons.

Other ribbons are not only what I was there, not only was I there, but here's what I did while I was there.

And those who know the ribbon codes can look and go, that guy just wasn't there.

That gal just wasn't there.

They did something while they were there.

And it means something.

And so I went in and stood in front of the general's desk at attention.

I did not look at him.

I was instructed to look straight ahead above him and not look down.

I obeyed.

So I'm standing in front of the general looking straight ahead, and he looks up at me and he says, Well, Lieutenant, I see your unit's been doing well.

And I said, Sir, yes, sir.

All of a sudden I became a private.

You still with me or not?

That was the general.

You say, What's the big deal?

He's just a man.

I was respecting his rank.

I was respecting his service.

I was expect respecting his office.

And he said, uh, I want to present a commendation, and he says, uh, a couple more things to me.

He was nice to me for a few minutes.

I don't know if he looked at me or not.

Because I didn't look down at him.

He said, uh, do you have anything to say?

And I said, uh the lieutenant wants to express his gratitude for calling the lieutenant before the general today, sir.

He says, is there anything else?

Sir, no, sir.

That's all I wanted to say.

Let me out of here.

He said, Lieutenant.

Look at me for a moment.

And I looked down and he looked up at me.

And he said, Good job, son.

That meant a lot to me.

That was better than anything else.

That was better than what they put in my service record book.

That was better than anything.

Good job, son.

I didn't do it.

I was representing those who done it.

But they recognize leadership.

He said, Lieutenant, that'll be all.

Sir, yes, sir.

Back, back, around, and out the door.

Quickly.

That whole sequence probably took four minutes.

But it seemed like a long time to me.

Because you don't go in front of the general to be called in for something very often.

If you're getting called in, it's either you're in trouble or he's got a question.

I remember briefing a general over in Korea, and I was a recon commander over there, and I was briefing the general, and I always referred to myself in the third person before that general, too.

And you know what?

When you put yourself in the right frame of mind, it's easy to do.

Because you know you're kind of a nobody that's getting to talk to a somebody, and you don't really have a whole lot to say.

And all you're gonna do is answer their questions.

Brethren, we get to go before the creator of this universe as nobodies.

You say, no, we're a child of God, I know.

But I gotta tell you something.

I think our whole attitude would change just a little bit more in our prayer life if we could get in his presence just for a second or two and then come back to earth.

I think we would be very humble.

Like Paul got called up to the third heaven.

I think it changed him.

I think it changed him.

And all I'm suggesting tonight, and please go out of here, it's not being dogmatic.

I'm not being you have to do this.

I'm just making a suggestion that humility is the path that leads in.

Once in a while, maybe go back and just refer to yourself before the Lord in the third person.

And I'm not saying, please listen, please listen.

I'm not saying that God won't listen to your prayers if you don't.

He listens to prayers when we say I, me, my, it's all about me.

He listens to all that.

But I want to say, if we talk about me, my, and us a little bit too much, he resisteth the proud.

Like you don't ever want to say, you know, you are really blessed to have me.

That'd be like me walking into the general and saying, it is your lucky day, sir.

You get to talk to me.

You say that's ridiculous.

I know it is.

It's my great honor to come in front of a general, even if it's for four minutes.

And I don't respect that rank that way.

How much more the king of all kings, the lord of all lords, the commander in chief of all the commanders in chiefs, the head of every, setting them up and putting them down.

What a better way than to maybe say, speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.

Let's bow our heads for prayer.

Again, I don't want to be dogmatic on it.

I don't want to be saying that this is a doctrine that you must follow.

I just want to make a suggestion for your study, is all.

As we as we work, if you would, to humble, to come before him with a right spirit.

And I'm not saying that coming before him, and don't be convicted about saying me or my or I, or don't you don't have to be convicted about that before the Lord, but it might be that the Lord might show you and say, Come before him in a humble manner.

He said, Come boldly, I know, but it's through Jesus Christ.

Thank you for listening to this message by Pastor Doug Fisher of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Lemon Grove, California.

To learn more about Lighthouse Baptist Church, visit our website at www.lighthousebaptist.com or call six one nine four six one fifty five sixty one.