Copyright 2012 Theresa Harvard Johnson
Standing up and saying, “I repent!” isn’t always enough. It is a start, but it takes more than that to press through False Maturity. While I was walking hard in this sin, my words of repentance – most of the time – were nothing more than lip service before an all-knowing, all-seeing God.
To walk in humility means one thing: You must be broken by Father over and over again. While many may experience conviction and earnestly feel the swells of repentance fall over them, those goose bumps will dissipate without a pursuit or a seeking for humility.
Ze-pha-ni-ah 2:3 CJB says, Seek ADONAI, all you humble in the land, you who exercise his justice; seek righteousness, seek humility – you might be hidden on the day of ADONAI’s anger. (To grasp a full understanding of this message, I encourage you to read Part I: False Maturity: Am I walking in it?)
In my life, I had learned how to seek out a lot of things in Yeshua, Christ; but I was never taught to seek humility or how to seek humility. In fact, I remember a pastor saying to me that I had to wait to be broken. I tell you, this WAS NOT sound advice. The kind of brokenness he was talking about was “putting a bit in the mouth of an ox” so-to-speak. It was the beat-down-kind-of-brokenness that comes in the midst of rebellion, having a hard-head. And people of God, it was truly the path that I had to walk down.
Because pride held such a high place in my life, Father’s Word in me was made true. I was RESISTED by Him until every high place was brought down… and I was able to walk in a different kind of brokenness and learn to pursue it.
You see, the SEEKING OF HUMILITY is the beginning of wisdom. The SEEKING OF HUMILITY is the foundation of submission. The SEEKING OF HUMILITY is the pursuit of the FEAR OF THE LORD!
Proverbs 22:4 CJB says, “The reward for humility is fear of ADONAI, along with wealth, honor and life.”
You see, I learned through my FORCEFUL breaking by the Lord that humility is a “choice and a pursuit.” I learned that I could have simply CHOSEN to humble myself as the scripture tells us and that Holy Spirit would have rushed in to teach me. I learned that the reason there is NO FEAR OF GOD and a lack of unity among many in Yeshua’s body today is truly because there is NO PURSUIT OF HUMILITY.
False maturity, people of God, is living life VOID of a right view of one’s own spiritual condition. It is the thinking that you are MATURE in the things of God when you are not! True LEADERS are servants first. People don’t want to hear this but they will be like the GOOD SHEPHERD – and no man will be left behind if at all possible. They will not sell you out to hirelings! Humility amounts to great sacrifice on so many levels in the spirit. (Now, I’m not talking about carnal sacrifice. Becoming a doormat to people and such. I am speaking specifically of obeying God in every relationship in your life and deed whether “self” believes its beneficial or not.)
Galatians 6:1-4 CJB says this: “Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won’t be tempted too. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is fooling himself. So let each of you scrutinize his own actions.”
Philippians 2:3 CJB says, “Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves…”
People of God, meditate on these scriptures. See the choices that we are being asked to make here. As Father began delivering me, I started leaning on Holy Spirit in a greater way. It got to a point where I could “feel jealousy, envy, competition and pride” rising in me. When in the presence of other believers, I can remember thinking things like this: “I’m a prophet too. God told me the same thing yesterday and I need to share it, and give the people what He shared with me.”
In that one thought was all kinds of pride and sin. Whew! I thank God for deliverance!
James 3:13 CJB says, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him demonstrate it by his good way of life, by actions done in the humility that grows out of wisdom.”
Humility GROWS out of GODLY wisdom. Humility grows out of GODLY UNDERSTANDING from the WISE! A person walking in FALSE MATURITY IS INCAPABLE OF IDENTIFYING WISDOM when in the midst of it. Instead, their spirit rises in competition, in a false sense of humanistic/social equality. There is absolutely no discerning that a spiritually higher ranked officer is in the midst of the company of soldiers.
As a result they enter into foolery much like I did! In their own minds, they falsely process what is happening around them with phrases like: “Who do these people think they are? I hear God just let you do!”
It’s that “I’m grown” mentality that so many young people (especially teens) walk in. Another form of FALSE MATURITY! They falsely think that you are trying to control their life when you are actually attempting to teach them by demonstration. My God! It’s that place of not knowing when to be a teacher versus when to be a student.
Remember, walking in humility is a CHOICE. It is taking a stand against your flesh and saying FATHER – I’m going to resist the pride of life that is in me. HOLY SPIRIT rise up in me to guide the way!
Ezra 8:21 ESV says, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.”
There is great revelation in this passage – especially when we grasp the journey Ezra was on up to this point. I strongly urge you to go back and read Chapters 1-8. The point here is this: We can set aside a Holy Fast before God for divine instruction concerning how to embrace humility.
When was the last time you fasted and prayed for humility – earnestly seeking God concerning His will for a submissive and loving people? In this hour, this is where the church needs to be.
2 Chronicles 7:14 CJB is quoted all the time. I’ve been to conference after conference to pray. We focus on PRAYER and this is good; but there hasn’t been any understanding – real understanding or teaching – of humility or the fruit of it. They focus on “bless the land” without grasping that we are praying for the wisdom to BECOME THE BLESSING that BLESS OTHERS. We are seeking humility to provide an entrance for the FEAR OF THE LORD.
If you are walking in false maturity in this hour, I beg you… make a decision to get free. Don’t lose the time that I lost seeking flesh instead of spirit. I know I’m not the only one desiring to maintain my freedom in this…
To God alone be the Glory…
