In the sermon 'Exaltation Through Humility' by Peter Allison, the message focuses on the teachings of Proverbs 25, emphasizing the importance of humility in gaining true exaltation. The sermon begins by explaining the context of the civil magistrate in Proverbs, comparing it to modern governance structures such as presidents and congresses. It highlights the wisdom of dividing authority to prevent abuse, acknowledging human imperfection. The speaker underscores the biblical principle that humility precedes honor, as exemplified by Jesus Christ, who served rather than sought self-promotion. Through various biblical narratives, including Jesus' interactions with His disciples and the Pharisees, the sermon illustrates the dangers of self-promotion and the virtue of modesty. It advises against hastily taking disputes to court, advocating for private resolution and emphasizing Christian modesty in behavior and desires. By following Jesus' example of service and humility, believers are encouraged to seek God's glory, trusting that exaltation will come through genuine humility.

Proverbs 25 this morning. We will read beginning at verse 6. Proverbs 25, beginning at verse 6. Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the King, and do not stand in the place of the Great. For it is better that he say to you, come up here, than that you should be put lower in the presence of the Prince, whom your eyes have seen.

Do not go hastily to court for what will you do in the end when your neighbor has put you to shame? Debate your case with your neighbor and do not disclose the secret to another, lest he who hears it expose your shame and your reputation be ruined." May God revive us according to His loving kindness so that we may keep the testimony of His mouth. Almighty Heavenly Father, this is Your Word. It does endure forever. Its truth endures forever.

In our petition before you now is that you would teach us, that you would open the eyes of our understanding, that you would open our heart to your voice, and that, and, Lord, may you sanctify my lips, sinful though they be, that through a vessel of clay, the riches of your glory and your wisdom may be proclaimed to us that you might be glorified and have the preeminence this morning. In Jesus' name we ask this. Amen. Well this is a very simple and well-known message. I'm sure it is not new to any of you.

And yet it is a message that as part of God's word is one that we need to hear, one that we need to be reminded of. Because it's all too easy for this principle of exaltation through humility. It's all too easy for us to forget and in the heat of the moment to fall into some of the very traps that are the topic of this passage. Context of Proverbs 25, the greater context of this chapter, and really the dominant theme of this whole section of Proverbs deals with the king What we might today call the civil magistrate and when you think of a king don't think of some guy with a crown on his head sitting on some raised chair in some magnificent room with all sorts of people bowing down before him. That's not what we have today.

Maybe in a figurative sense it is, but That's not what we have today. Maybe in a figurative sense it is, but that's not what we have today. Today our civil magistrate, today our king is a president, a congress, judges. The president, or congress, judges. The office of civil magistrate is divided into three branches, and the authority that is vested in the civil magistrate is split between three different institutions in our land.

And we can thank the Lord and the wisdom of prior generations for that arrangement. For people that have learned the lessons of history and have found it wise not to entrust all of the authority of the civil magistrate in one person. Because there is no one upon earth who is perfect. There is no man who is perfect other than Christ. And it is because of the weakness of man, it is better that that authority is divided.

And so when this book talks about the kings, we ought to be thinking about that legislator, that county commissioner, the county judge, as well as presidents and judges. All of these are collectively in view when this passage, this scriptures talk about the king, Speaking of those people who bear civil rule in our land. And so that's the context of this greater passage. The previous verses in this chapter deal with kings. They deal with the fact that God is sovereign over kings.

Remember we said that concealment is the prerogative of a sovereign. The glory of God is to conceal a matter. That's the prerogative of a sovereign. To conceal something is to claim absolute right to whatever it is that is being concealed. Concealing is also the work of someone who knows something and searching something out is the work of people who don't know something.

So God knows all things. It is His honor to conceal things and kings search out what God conceals. So concealing, we said, God's concealing of things demonstrates His absolute self-sufficiency, that He doesn't need anything from anyone. If He's hungry, God says He wouldn't tell us. If he's thirsty, he doesn't need to ask us for a drink of water.

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. It also, concealing also demonstrates his omnipotence. He's all-powerful. He never needs to ask help of anyone. Secondly, the second principle that comes before in this greater context is that earthly kings are to be honored.

That just as God is above the king, the king is above his subjects and his ministers of God, they too have an unsearchable heart. And thirdly, that kings need to be those who remove unrighteousness and wickedness from their land. That is their calling. We talked about that a couple of weeks ago. It is their responsibility to, as we said in that message, to take out the trash, to remove the trash, to refine the silver, just like refining silver takes the trash out of it.

We now come in this chapter into verse 6, where God teaches us, gives us two principles for how we relate to civil rulers, how we relate to the king. The first is that we have modesty in the presence of the king, and the second is that we are to make modest use of the king's judging authority. We have modesty in the presence of the King, and we're to make modest use of the King's judging authority. Modesty in the presence of the King. We have to remain, in other words, refrain I mean, from self promotion to the king.

Refraining from self promotion to the king. The king has the power and authority to promote and to demote. And it's tempting for us to promote ourselves to those who are in authority, to get them to see how good or how skillful we are, to sit at the table with them, to be in their presence, what the corporate world might call FaceTime. That's a very real temptation. You know, politicians openly trade on this desire that we have to be in their presence, to sit with them, to self-promote as it were, to lift ourselves up before them.

They openly trade on that desire, exchanging their presence for money. Some in recent years have sold their residence to the highest bidder, getting their money in exchange for allowing people to come close to them, to be near them, to sit with them, to stand in the place of the great, as the text says. But it's common. It's the way our whole political culture works today. Instead of being, it works today by the people paying the politicians, the king, for access.

You scratch my back, if you contribute to my re-election campaign, then I will let you into my presence. And I will let you sit down at the table with me. I will let you eat with me. I'll let you have your picture taken with me. And you can put it up on your wall so that everybody that comes into your office can see that you were with the king.

And people pay. People pay for that privilege to sit with the king, to have access. And that's the whole basis of our political system today. And it's turned what ought to be on its head. And that our kings who are to be the servants of the people, That's why they're called public servants, have instead become lords over the people, collectively.

But this isn't new. But this isn't new. The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons and she kneeled before him and she asked something from him. You remember what she asked? She asked for her sons to sit with Jesus.

One on his right hand, one on his left. The highest place of honor that she could conceive. Sitting at Jesus' right hand. She came and she asked this for her son. She probably thought that she was being a good mother.

Seeking to promote her sons. Seeking to promote their future, their well-being. She said, grant these two sons of mine may sit on your right hand and on your left in your kingdom. Jesus came proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. She saw Jesus doing all manner of things that only the Son of God could do.

And she said, well, then I would like my sons in this kingdom, when Jesus comes in His kingdom, for my sons to sit on His right hand and on His left, in the highest places of honor, above all other disciples, above all other people. Right? You don't get, you don't ask. It was her motto. And Jesus answered her, you don't know what you're asking.

You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the fire that I am to be baptized with?" And they, in their ignorance and folly, said, yes, we are able. And Jesus said, well you will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those whom it is prepared by the Father." See, they were doing here exactly what this proverb is talking about. They were seeking to have the most advanced and highest seat of honor with the King.

Now what about the other disciples? Well, When they heard about it, they really showed they weren't any better. They were just disappointed that they weren't the first to think of asking for that privilege. They were displeased with the brothers. And Jesus called them all to Himself and He said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

Jesus said, but it's not supposed to be that way among you. You're not, we're not to be vying for the position of honor. We're not to be those vying to gather the most power to ourselves, to have the most face time with the highest ruler. We're not to be those who are seeking to climb that corporate ladder. If the Lord grants that success, so be it.

But we are not to be reaching for it. Jesus said, whoever desires to be great among you, Let Him be your servant. Exaltation through humility. Whoever desires to be first among you, start out being a slave. Start out being the lowest.

Just like, just like the Son of Man. The Son of Man did not come to be served. He didn't come to seek glory for himself, but he came to serve, and he came to give his life a ransom for many. In another occasion the disciples were arguing among themselves about who was the greatest in Luke chapter 22. There was a dispute among them about which of them should be called the greatest.

You can probably imagine a discussion like this. If you're like me, you've probably been a part of a discussion like this maybe at one time or other. Who's the greatest among us? And Jesus said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship. And those who exercise lordship over them are called benefactors.

In other words, they're praised. They're praised among the people as great benefactors, great doers of good. But it's not supposed to be like that among you, Jesus told his disciples. He used to be the greatest, let him be as the younger. He who governs as He who serves.

For who is greater, Jesus asked, who is greater, He who sits at the table or He Who serves? Well we all know the answer to that question. The greater one is the one who sits at the table. The lesser one is the one who serves. You know that's what deacons are.

They are servants and the word really is those who wait on tables. Is it not He who sits at the table? Well, yes it is. It's a rhetorical question. Jesus asked this.

Yes, it is the one who sits at the table. Yet I am among you as one who serves, Jesus said. But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my Father bestowed upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on twelve thrones, or sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus was teaching them there that the path to exaltation is through humility.

Jesus applied this very proverb in chapter 25, which speaks about the king and not exalting ourself in the presence of the king, not trying to stand in the place of the great, because he said, it's better. You want to go to the lowest place. And then if you deserve a higher place, then they will say, well, come up here. And that's an honor to be exalted. But if you go to the place that you deserve, or to the place that's higher than you deserve, then you're going to be told, go down here.

And you see, That's to be debased. That's to be humiliated. So Jesus is teaching a very practical principle. That's true in probably our everyday life more than we think about. Do not seek to exalt yourself in the presence of the King.

It's better to take the lowest seat and be told, come up to a higher one, than it is to take the seat we deserve or a seat that's higher than we deserve because we're thinking too highly of ourselves and be told, can you please move over here, sir, and make room for somebody else in your seat. I would remember going to the investiture, it's a fancy word for clothing, putting on investment, of a Texas Supreme Court judge. These judges are, And I tell this to illustrate just how how easy it is to fall into this situation even when we're aware of it, but The each judge is given so many seats at this investiture. Because it's a thing that the governor comes to and senators, federal senators, and everybody that's who's who would generally come to something like this. And so it's a place where people want to get in and generally you reach the seating capacity of the building pretty quickly.

And so we arrived there and being aware of this principle we we took a seat way in the back, or are they trying to be aware of it? And the judge said to us, oh here, why don't you come on up and sit here, sit way up here in the front. And so I thought, well okay, he's telling us we can come up here and sit, so we went up there and sat in the front. Well, it turned out, the place started filling up, that he didn't have as many seats as he thought he had. And he had prematurely invited us to a place that was higher than we really ought to have been.

And there wasn't enough room for his greater guests that were coming. And I was a little slow to recognize that. But eventually, In hindsight, I should have more quickly realized that and stepped back to where we were before. But because I was slow to catch on, then I went up to him and said, well, would you like us to move back? And he said, well, yes, I would.

I realized the truth of this passage and had snuck up on me and caught me unawares. It's better to take a lower seat, in this case even when we were invited to the higher seat, because we should have been aware that we were sitting in too high of a seat and quickly vacated it, even though we'd been invited up, Because it felt the same way, believe me, to be asked to go to a lower seat. But this is a principle that plays itself out all the time. Where do we want to sit? Who are we going to sit by?

You know, brothers, little children, brothers and sisters, do you give this seed of honor sitting next to mommy or daddy, or whatever special person is in your house? Do you give that honor to your siblings? Or do you try and get it for yourself? Jesus says that the path to exaltation is to give that seed of honor to others. That the path to exaltation is through humility, is through being a slave, being a servant.

But Jesus, as I said, applies this to many other situations and many other contexts. He applies it in Luke 14 to a wedding feast, had nothing to do per se with a king. Jesus was invited to the house of a Pharisee, a ruler of the Pharisees. Jesus was invited to these kinds of places infrequently because he was a popular person. The crowds followed him And so the chief rulers of the Pharisees, on several occasions that are recorded in Scripture, invited Jesus to their house.

And they were watching Him closely in Luke 14 passage. They were looking to see if they could catch Him in something. What they didn't realize is that Jesus was watching them as well. And He saw them all trying to have the seat of honor. He saw them trying to outdo one another to get the high seats.

And so he told them a parable when he noted how they chose the best places for themselves. He said, when you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast. Do not sit down in the best place. Lest one more honorable than you be invited by him, and he who invited you comes to you and says, give place to this man." You notice Jesus here is telling them a parable. He's looked at them and he's seen them all taking the best places at this banquet, this dinner.

So he tells them a parable, but he removes it a little bit. He puts it in the context of a wedding feast. He's coming obliquely at this point before them, not making it too direct. He says, when you're invited, go and sit in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher, and then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at table with you for whoever exalts himself will be humble and he who humbles himself will be exalted But then he goes on to apply it more closely to us. When you give a dinner, now he's talking to the host here, when you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives or your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back and you be repaid But when you have a feast invite the poor the maim the lame the blind and you will be blessed because they cannot Repay you for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." Jesus applied this even more broadly, even to just having, even to just the entertaining or the hospitality that we show.

Don't just invite the people that can repay you. It's not wrong to have fellowship with those people. But remember that That which is the greatest service invites the people that can't repay us, the people that can't do back to us what we have done to them, and maybe don't even know that we are the one that provided for them. Jesus said that is the greatest. And that person will be paid at the resurrection of the just.

In Matthew 23, Jesus applies this principle in many different areas of self-promotion. He talks about doing works to be seen by men About the Pharisees having these phylacteries these other boxes in which they wrote out parts of the scriptures on parchment and rolled them up and stuck them in these boxes that they put on different places on their bodies, on their arms and on their eyes and head and so on, in order to be seen as righteous people, outwardly seen. He talks about in Matthew 23, those that want the best seats in synagogues and at feasts, just like he was observing there in the passage we looked at. The people that always want the best greeting, or the greeting of honor in the marketplace. They go out wanting people to call them by exalted titles.

Jesus says that ought not to be so of us. Let another man praise you and not your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips." Sometimes we just want to tell everybody what we have done. It's part of our sinful human nature. But the way that Christ is calling us to is to crucify our pride, our desire for fame, our desire to be recognized for the good deeds that we have done, to be willing to do them privately, to be willing to do them and have nobody notice what we are doing, to have, to be willing to not be praised at all, to not be recognized at all, and to wait for others to praise us. It could be applied to peers, to wanting to be with the in crowd.

This is what's behind the desire to create a clique or desire to be in a clique. It's just part of our fallen nature to want to be noticed, to want to be a part of the in crowd. Jesus says exaltation comes through humility, it comes through service, it comes through taking the lowest station. Says application also to just Christian modesty. Also to just Christian modesty.

Not to not putting ourselves on display. To not falsely putting ourselves lower in a in a in a in a in a proudful attempt to appear humble. Modesty is it involves dress, but it's really a lot more than dress. Modesty is about behavior. Modesty is about our desires.

Immodesty is about seeking to demonstrate ourselves, seeking to display ourselves, whether it's our body or our intellect or our knowledge or our skills, modesty calls for not putting ourselves on display. Simply to be seen by other people, to be noticed. That's not the same as letting our light shine before men. Now the second principle here is modest use of the king's judging authority. Don't go hastily to court.

Don't be quick to run to the king to have your case judged. Decided. We think we're right. We always think we're right. It's part of us.

But this is a caution that in thinking that we're right and thinking that we've been wronged and thinking that the other person is the guilty party and we're the innocent party, don't go hastily to court. For what will you do in the end when your neighbor has put you to shame? Don't talk with them privately. Discuss it with them first. Don't disclose the secret to another.

Don't go talking to people about this, how right you are and how wrong the other person is, lets to you, here's it, expose your shame and your reputation, be ruined. You know controversies are often differences in perception. And we need to listen more carefully. We listen too quickly, don't understand what somebody else is saying, and all of a sudden find ourselves in a controversy. There are differences that can arise over differences of personal convictions, about things that are not essential.

We can find ourselves in a controversy over things indifferent, over matters that should be an area of Christian liberty. We can find ourselves in controversies over differences of essential beliefs. And we need to be able to listen charitably. Listen charitably. Not make it worse than it is, but put it in the best possible light.

Sometimes, when we're in a disagreement, we want to put our opponent in the worst possible light. We want to make it as bad as possible. But we should instead be seeking to listen charitably. Controversy may be over a civil right. We've been a victim of a theft, or we've been a victim of some other wrong, and there is restitution that's owed to us.

Well, we need to have, this passage is urging a modest use of the King's judging authority, prudence in asserting our rights because there are potential damages or consequences. There's potential of loss of our reputation. There's potential of financial loss. And so we need to be, we should not be hasty to make use of the court, of taking our case to somebody else and spreading it. There are times when that's necessary, but it should be a deliberate process and Matthew Matthew 18 lays out that process And it's one of go if you think you've we've been wrong go privately and discuss that with them Person that we think we've wronged with debate your case with your neighbor and do not disclose the secret to another That's that's out of a respect for a neighbor not to expose their fault more than it ought to be but it's also Wise on our part.

We might be the ones that are wrong. And when we start talking about these kinds of things, often we're the ones that look foolish. We're the ones that often are foolish in that. Talk. Just debate your case with your neighbor.

Wait first. Think about it. Let some time pass. Give some perspective to it. It's wise to check our own heart first.

What are our motives? What's driving our response? If we have bitterness in our heart, It will skew our judgment. If our own heart isn't right, we will never be successful in restoring someone else's heart. Pray.

Pray. Prayer reminds us that it's God's glory, not ours, that we're seeking. Prayer reminds us of our sins as we come into the presence of a holy God. And it's when we are aware of our sins that we are able to forgive, of our greater sins, that we're able to forgive our lesser sins of those that have sinned against us. But keep the controversy as quiet and as close as possible.

It's tempting to discuss it with anybody that wants to listen to us. But Solomon is saying here, that's not wise. And Jesus is saying, that's not wise. That's not wise. Now this is not saying that we should fail to hold people accountable for what they have done.

It doesn't say ignore your case with your neighbor. It says debate your case with your neighbor and don't disclose the secret to another. But if we have given it time, we have given it prayer, we have discussed it privately and it is significant enough, Then we do need to carry it farther. Jesus said if your brother sins against you, rebuke him. He doesn't say ignore it, overlook it, totally overlook it.

Yes, it's right at times to overlook it. But also Jesus says if your brother sins against you, rebuke him. And when he comes and says, I repent, forgive him. And if he sins against you 70 times in a day or 7 times in a day, and 7 times in a day comes and says, I repent, then you must forgive him. It doesn't say ignore it and don't ever say anything about it.

And Matthew 18 does give us instruction on what to do if after having this due reserve, this modesty with respect to the King's judging authority, what to do if it is something that needs to move forward? There are, God has constituted courts and authority to deal with those matters and it isn't wrong to use them. Jesus is our example in all of this. Jesus is our example. He's the servant leader in John 13.

Jesus goes around washing the feet of the disciples. He took upon Himself the role of the lowest servant, that of washing people's feet. But He was still their ruler. He was still their Lord. Because remember when he got to Peter, Peter, who decided whether Peter's feet got washed or not?

Was it Peter? Or was it Christ? Christ decided whether Peter's feet got washed or not. You see Christ was acting in the role of a servant, but Christ was still their Lord. And when Peter didn't want to have his feet washed, Jesus said, if I don't wash your feet, you have no part in me.

Jesus decided whether Peter got to have his feet washed or not. He was a servant, yes, but he was still the ruler. That is the example of a servant leader. Jesus humbled himself. Philippians tells us, and we've looked at that.

It's not too long ago, well maybe it's been a year now, but Philippians too speaks of Christ's humility in this regard. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. This is the Christ our example carrying out what is being taught in our text in Proverbs 25. That this mind be in you and in me, that was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not think it was robbery to be equal with God. Here is Jesus Christ, equal with God, the Son of God.

But he made himself of no reputation. He took the form of a bond-servant and came in the likeness of human flesh. The Lord of glory, the one who dwells in unapproachable light, who existed from all eternity, humbled himself, made himself of no reputation, and came in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name." Notice that Christ's exaltation is because of his humiliation.

That he gave him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. May Christ be our example in this. Almighty Heavenly Father, your Word is our light, so light to our path. Your word is truth. And we thank you that we have seen that word.

Word became flesh and dwelt among us we thank you for Not only for Christ's sacrifice for his righteousness for his active and passive obedience For but also Lord we do thank you even for this example that he has given for us to follow. May you grant to us your Holy Spirit to crucify our pride That we in sincere humility may follow your example, may serve one another. And so receive Your commendation and your praise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.