Danger Points #2
Self/Pride
The message this evening is on humility, and in my humble opinion, it is one of the finest sermons ever written!
Maybe we need to talk about pride instead. J. Vernon McGee said that the greatest sin in the ministry is pride. I believe that we need to take a serious look at pride and how it affects us and our relationship with God.
I believe that pride is the most prevalent destructive force on our planet today. Pride has destroyed families, brought nations to their knees and led many Christians off the path of righteousness. If you think about it most sin has pride as its root cause. Our desire to get what we feel we “deserve” or to fulfill the desires of our flesh, regardless of the impact on others, our self or our relationship with God leads us into much trouble and sin.
Isaiah 50:7-11 “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will triumph. He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to oppose me now? Where are my enemies? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign LORD is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths! Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon lie down in great torment.”
We need to watch out for pride in our lives. When we begin to glory in what “I did” or “We did” and not in what God has done we start down a road that leads away from God and His perfect Will for our lives.
We need God for everything! For our daily nutrition, to health to the very next breath of air we take. We would never have even existed without His mighty love for us.
ILL with a bucket of water – place hand in the water and make a big splash – lots of noise…talk about how we feel we are all that and a bag of chips as we impact our world. Then take out your hand and tell them that the hole that is left in the bucket of water is the true measure of our importance.
What is pride?
Dictionary.com defines pride as:
Mark Twain defined a proud man as “one who waits for a vacancy in the Trinity.”
When I worked in local government I had a pride problem From my office in City Hall I wrote law and had the authority and power to enforce those laws. I had the ear of bankers, developers, corporate leaders and could change the course of our cities growth with a few well placed ordinances. I felt important! Probably even worse than that was the simple fact that after 14 years with one city I began to feel irreplaceable.
Because of my great knowledge of state and federal law and a keen political instinct I built up an invulnerability to attack. There was no one else around who knew the Building Official business like I did. My political contacts both locally and in the State Government alone was enough to ensure that I would never be fired. They needed me too much.
Sometimes I felt that the city could not function with out me.
“Pride cometh before a fall”. Even though I was politically bulletproof – I was not exempt from God’s Law and His Will. Through a process of refining and molding, we too be perfectly honest it was breaking apart and reconstructing from the very foundation, God led me to accept a job with a larger and more influential city.
Do you know what? The City of Port Lavaca is still somehow surviving without me.
I worked for the City of Victoria for less than a year, working much the same as before and God moved me again – this time completely out of government and into full time ministry.
Do you know what? The city of Victoria is running just fine without me as well!
I guess the mother whale was right when she taught her young baby “When you go to the surface and start to blow, that’s when you get harpooned”.
God taught me a valuable lesson about pride. I ain’t got no reason to have any! The only thing I am truly proud of are the things God has given me.
I am proud to be one of His children. I am a proud husband and father of 2 precious little girls. I am proud to be used by Him as a pastor, teacher and servant to others.
As believers we are called to seek the Kingdom of God above everything else. We are to be His humble servants. I do not think that a proud person can be anyone’s servant; they are too focused on themselves.
I John 2:16 “For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world."
Be very careful about what you hold most dear. Is it eternal or temporary? Will it give you the glory or God? Does it help others or just yourself?
Listen to what God said about the proud people:
Psalm 101:5 “I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.”
Proverbs 8:13 “All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 “Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.”
Pretty strong words from our Father in Heaven. He takes pride in our lives very seriously; perhaps because He knows the damage it can do to us.
Make sure it is God’s trumpet you are blowing. If it is yours, it won’t wake the dead; it will simply disturb the neighbors.