Listen, subscribe, and leave a review on:
We talk a lot about revival. We pray for it, preach about it, and develop strategies to reach more people. But in this conversation with Evangelist Dan MacLeod, we focused on something that may be far more foundational: humility.
Dan MacLeod has been on The Hacka Podcast several times, and I always appreciate the biblical perspective and conviction he brings to our conversations. In this episode, he takes us to the triumphal entry of Jesus in Matthew 21 and highlights a thread running through the entire story. A man was willing to surrender his donkey. Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem on an unlikely and humble vessel. People laid their garments before Him. And eventually, an entire city was asking, “Who is this?”
He summed it up with a statement that stayed with me: “Humility is the path that God travels on.”
Our conversation moved from the triumphal entry to the cleansing of the temple, the Day of Pentecost, leadership, social media, materialism, ambition, and the culture we create within our churches. One of the great challenges from this episode is that it is possible to have the right actions while having the wrong attitude. We can have excellence, activity, worship, preaching, programs, and ministry, but still need God to search our hearts.
If we want revival in our churches, it has to begin with us. Revival requires change, and humility gives us the willingness to allow God to make that change.
10 Key Takeaways
1. Humility Is the Path God Travels On
Dan’s central thought was simple: if we want God to move in our lives, families, churches, and cities, we need humility. Revival isn’t only about what we do; it begins with the posture of our hearts.
2. God’s Methods Often Challenge Our Expectations
Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey rather than displaying the power and prestige people expected from a king. God’s way often requires us to surrender our preferences and trust His methods.
3. Our Attitude Matters as Much as Our Actions
Jesus confronted people in the temple who were participating in religious activity while their hearts had drifted. We can be doing the right things while carrying the wrong motives.
4. We Can Celebrate Without Surrendering
Pentecostals know how to celebrate, and that’s a good thing. But outward expressions of worship can never replace genuine inward surrender to God.
5. Excellence Cannot Replace Humility
We should pursue excellence in ministry, but excellence without humility can become human production. No amount of talent, technology, programming, or presentation can manufacture a move of God.
6. Humility Positions Us for God’s Power
From the triumphal entry to the Day of Pentecost, we see people surrendering, praying, obeying, and humbling themselves. As James reminds us, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
7. Healthy Ministry Requires Humility Toward People
Working with people will inevitably bring disagreement, offence, and messiness. Humility allows us to put aside personal issues so they don’t become barriers to what God wants to accomplish.
8. Don’t Manufacture Your Reputation
Jesus “made himself of no reputation.” In an image-driven social media culture, we need to resist the temptation to build an identity around how others perceive us and focus instead on obeying God.
9. We Must Examine Our Relationship With Materialism
Possessions, brands, fashion, and status can subtly become ways of projecting an image. The issue isn’t simply what we own, but whether our possessions have begun shaping our identity and priorities.
10. Revival Begins With the Individual
We can’t expect revival in the church while resisting change in ourselves. Before asking God to transform our church or city, we must be willing to let Him search and transform us.
Scriptures Discussed
Humility and Triumphal Entry
- Matthew 21 — Jesus’ triumphal entry, cleansing of the temple, and healing of the blind and lame.
- Mark 11 — The triumphal entry and Jesus’ actions in the temple.
- Luke 19 — Luke’s account of the triumphal entry.
- John 12 — John’s account of Jesus entering Jerusalem.
- Zechariah 9:9 — The prophecy of the King coming humbly, riding upon a donkey.
Humility, Revival and the Power of God
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 — “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray…”
- James 4:6 — God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
- Acts 2 — The outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost.
- Joel 2 — The prophetic promise connected to the outpouring of God’s Spirit.
Humility in Leadership and Relationships
- John 6 — Jesus withdraws when the people intend to take Him by force and make Him king.
- Proverbs 14:4 — Where there are no oxen the crib is clean, but increase comes through the strength of the ox.
- Philippians 2 — Jesus makes Himself of no reputation and models humility.
Surrender, Ambition and Our Priorities
- Jeremiah 45:5 — God’s word to Baruch: “Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.”
- Luke 15:8–10 — The woman lights a candle and sweeps the house while searching for the lost coin.
- Matthew 26:36–46 — Jesus in Gethsemane submitting His will to the Father’s will.
Final Thought
Revival is something we all want to see, but this conversation reminded me that it must begin with a willingness to be changed ourselves. If we want God to move in our lives, our families, our churches, and our cities, we have to be willing to lay down our pride, preferences, and personal ambition. As Dan said throughout this conversation, “Humility is the path that God travels on.”
May we be willing to walk that path.
Connect with us on social:
Instagram: @thehackapodcast
Facebook: The Hacka Podcast
YouTube: Subscribe Here
The Hacka Podcast 
Leave a comment