Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.   Matthew 23:12

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.     James 4:10

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time, he may exalt you,    1 Peter 5:6

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to a pastor I had not listened to in a while.  In his sermon, he spoke of the two positions of the throne and the cross. He asked his congregation if they were on the throne or on the cross and it got me thinking.

So, today I’d like to get you thinking about this as well. I want you to think about your relationship with your Lord and Savior. I want you to consider who is on the throne and who is on the cross?

Jesus died on that cross so we could be saved and lifted up to have eternal life in glory with our heavenly Father. He died so we could be set free from the bondage of sin. But Jesus isn’t the only one who must suffer crucifixion. Our flesh must also be crucified.

Galatians 5:24 tells us those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we back up to Galatians 5:16 we are told, we must walk by the Spirit so we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 8:13 tells us if we live by our flesh, we will die but if we put to death the deeds of the body we will live.

This means we must die to self. We must put God on the throne. We must give Him the place of glory and honor in our lives. In Galatians 2:20 Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Jesus died on that cross to save us from our sins. He was buried and three days later He rose from the grave conquering sin and death. He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. He is no longer on the cross, but on the throne.

Where is he in your life? Have you placed yourself on the throne? There is the throne and there is the cross. We must be on the cross with Jesus on the throne. This is the only way it will work. We must crucify our flesh. We must put the deeds of the body to death.

In our first Scripture passage Jesus warns about the Pharisees and the scribes saying they do everything to be observed by others. They are trying to impress men. We spend much of our time, effort and words trying to impress those around us. What good can they do for you? Can they get you into heaven? Can they give you an eternity of peace and joy? Can they give you peace and contentment while here on earth.

Jesus said they love being seated at the place of honor. He assured them God would humble whoever exalted themselves. My friend, I beg of you to humble yourself. You don’t want God to have to do it. I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. I can tell you my life drastically improved when I got off the throne and gave God the place of honor and praise in my life.

The beautiful thing about our second Scripture passage is like all of the Bible it’s true. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us. I strongly encourage you to adhere to our third Scripture passage for today and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.

If you are suffering, run to the cross. Crucify your flesh. Put Jesus high upon the throne and make him the Lord of your life. Seek to bring Him glory, honor and praise in all you say and do.

Before you open your mouth or text or email or post, ask yourself will what I have to say bring glory to God? Am I putting myself on the throne or am I honoring Him?

If you are on the throne and still have Jesus on the cross, it’s time you traded places. Humble yourself before Him. Put it all in His mighty hands and trust Him with all you have. Exalt Him in everything you do and at the proper time, you will be exalted.

Have a great day!