He That Overcometh: The Pride Of Life – Part Five

Pride of Life

1 John 2:15-17

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

In our final lesson on overcoming, I want to address the issue of the pride of life.

Another one of Satan’s attacks will come through the avenue of our pride!

It is important to understand that there are actually two kinds of pride…

1. There is virtuous pride.

2. There is sinful pride.

Pride can be a virtue, or pride can be a vice!

Virtuous pride is simply striving to be the best that you can be.

Paul said…

1 Corinthians 9:24

24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

There is only one person who can win the race….so run to win. In other words strive to be the best that you can be….that is good pride.

· If I am playing you in a game of Rook…you better believe that I intend to win.

· If we the Blue Jays are playing the White Sox…it’s the Blue Jays that are going to win. Cause that is my team.

· If you’re an Okey from Muskogee…then you ought to be the best Okey that you can be.

· If you are Canadian…then be the best Canadian that you can be.

· I am actually a dual citizen…I have lived in America for a total of nineteen years…and I lived in Canada for twenty-four years.

· So I am the best dual citizen that I can be….when I am in Canada, I talk about how great you Americans are…when I am in America, I talk about how great the Canadians are…cause I want them to know!

· When you sing about America, you sing….I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.

When you strive to give your best effort is not a sinful thing…in fact I believe that God is disappointed in us when we don’t give our best effort….it ruins our testimony.

· You ought to be the best employee at your workplace…

o Dress your best.

o Try your hardest.

o Show up when nobody else shows up…that is what Paul was talking about.

· You ought to be the friendliest neighbor.

· You ought to be the most outstanding citizen in your community.

· We ought to try and be the best Christian that we can be.

· It is a good thing to try and win as many souls as you can.

· It is a good thing to pray as often as you can.

· It is a good thing to be proud of reading your bible through in one year.

I want you to understand tonight, that there is good pride. Can I get a witness?

But there is also sinful pride.

Sinful pride is a distorted focus on the importance of one’s self.

I’m reminded of the story of a young woman who went to her pastor and confessed, “Pastor, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help. I come to church every Sunday and can’t help thinking I’m the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not to think like that, but I can’t help it. I want you to help me with it.” The pastor told her, “don’t worry about it. In your case it’s not a sin. It’s just a horrible mistake.”

This is the kind of pride that John was referring to in our text….it is a pride that boasts, it is a pride that lifts a person up, to the point they become somebody that they are not!

Sinful pride is so very dangerous because once mankind has been taken by it, he still thinks he is in the right, and his pride clouds his reality, and keeps him from recognizing what he has become.

Sinful pride is listed in both the Old Testament, and the New, in the lists of sins and abominations that God hates!

Prov 6:16-19

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Pride is dangerous because it can be present without us realizing it.

Some people are naturally self-confident in themselves, and that is a great asset to have.

There is a difference between confidence and pride….yet at the same time, self confident people need to be careful because pride can sometimes be mistaken for self-confidence.

· Attitudes like “I can do it myself” or “I don’t need anyone else” are common with prideful people.

· If you hear yourself say, “I want it done my way” or “Here, let me do it, you’ll just mess it up” be careful, because are placing yourself on a pedestal above everybody else.

· When you start placing yourself above others, you become self-righteous, and pride will soon follow.

· When your way is so much better than everybody else’s way, pride is already entering your heart.

Jesus had spoke a parable to those who had an attitude of self righteousness…

Luke 18:9-14

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

The bible says that the Pharisee “prayed to himself”…

· He was proud that he wasn’t like other people: swindlers, adulterers, and tax collectors.

· He was PROUD that he fasted twice a week (which completely negates the purpose of fasting), paid his tithes, and lived according to the law.

In contrast, the tax collector…was so upset with the gravity of his sin, he didn’t even feel worthy to lift his eyes to heaven.

· The tax collector was a wealthy man, but he was not focused on his wealth.

· Instead, the bible says he beat his breast, he prayed, and cried out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

He humbled himself and repented of his sin!

James 4:6-10

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Five weeks ago, I used James 4:7 as one of my key scriptures. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you…that is the part that we all remember!

Of course, I pointed out to you that it does no good to resist the devil if we are not submitted to God!

· Tonight I want to add to that.

· We submit ourselves by humbling ourselves.

· We draw nigh to God by humbling ourselves.

· The tax collector humbled himself by repenting…asking for mercy!

When we humble ourselves before God, He gives us grace and lifts us up. When we humble ourselves…He exalts us!

God also said, when we exalt ourselves, we will be brought down and humiliated.

The Pharisee was just wanting to be seen and recognized…

It is like that friend, everyone has one…they always have to ‘one up’ you. It is not simply trying to beat you in a game, but…

· They always have to get the last word in.

· Their method is always the right one.

· Their plan is always better.

· Their story is always funnier.

· The take the credit even when it is not due them.

· They want to be the one that is noticed, and heard…they want their jokes to be the ones that are laughed at.

That is pride at work in their hearts….

I’m reminded of the story of the beaver and the rabbit who were staring up at the immense wall of Hoover Dam. The beaver turned to the rabbit and said, “No, I didn’t actually build it myself, but it was based on an idea of mine.”

Have you ever met anyone like that? Look in the mirror!

We have all been guilty of drawing attention to ourselves in one form or another…but we have to be very careful where it leads…the attitude of self-righteousness is really an attitude of pride.

Pride leads us away from God…the bible says that God resists the proud!

When sinful pride enters into our heart….it is not too long after that when your way becomes better than the bible way and you are placing yourself where only God belongs.

That is why God hates pride! Pride eventually says, “God, I can do it better than you!” And it pushes God out of the picture.

Mary Lewis states, “Pride, the idolatrous worship of self, is the national religion of hell.”

The truth is tonight…

· We were born into sin.

· We are far from being perfect.

· It is only God who is perfect.

· Jesus was the perfect Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

· God is perfect, we are imperfect.

· God is infallible, we are fallible.

· We can’t make it without Him!

An author named Alex Haley kept a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post in his office….of course the turtle didn’t get there by himself, he had some help. Every time Alex saw the picture, it reminded him that anything that he had ever accomplished was accomplished through the help of others.

Whatever any of us has accomplished, we have accomplished through the help of family and friends.

Whatever we have accomplished in our walk with God, was accomplished through Jesus!

I can do all things through (not myself) but through Christ, who strengthens me!

· I didn’t build this church…God did!

· I didn’t renovate this building…it was Bro. Smith, Bro. Huron, it was the ladies who watched the children while the men worked.

· It was Sis Smith, who painted when nobody else wanted to.

· It was Sis Floe who brought food when we were hungry.

· Everyone that is here tonight is part of the success of this church because God ordained it to be so.

Clap your hands if you believe that!

Lucifer was created by God as perfect angel….

Ezek 28:15-17

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

When Lucifer began to see that He was good to look upon, it went to his heart…and his thinking was corrupted.

Satan began to see himself as a perfect being, and eventually saw himself like God.

Isa 14:12-14

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

He began to see himself sitting on the mountain with God, ascending into the heights of the clouds…and eventually he persuaded himself that he would be equal with God.

We all know that is not true…but Satan thinks it is.

When you get full of pride you can’t see yourself for who you really are…you lose your identity…you become someone you are not! And God has no choice but to leave you to your own devices.

Proverbs 16:18

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

The Message bible says it this way, “First pride, then the crash, the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.”

I believe that pride is a sin, but it is also a stepping stone to greater sin.

When Lucifer was lifted up because of his pride, it eventually lead to him becoming not just a fallen angel…but the prince of the darkness of this world, and the number one enemy of God!

We have to be so careful about pride!

· If want to start suggesting things to God…then you might be full of pride.

· If you think you can improve on the word of God…then you are full of pride.

God’s word is forever settled in heaven.

In the Old Testament, Job began telling God how to do a few things…and God immediately put Job in his place…God switch places with Job, and began asking the questions….

· “Where were you when I flung the stars into space?”

· “Were you present when I determined the gestation period of the antelope?”

· “Are you the One who causes light to part in the eastern sky or Who brings dawn upon the horizon?”

· “Do you guide the eagle in his flight path?”

· “Have you given horses their strength, or put gills on the fish?”

· “Have you ever been to the bottom of the ocean, Job?”

· “Are you able to see the earth from space as I do all the time?”

….I think Job got the picture….we can’t ever improve on God or his plan!

King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the most powerful man on the face of the earth during his reign…

· Was famous the world over.

· He had great power.

· People from all nations feared him.

· His kingdom was a kingdom of majesty, glory, and honor!

…yet the bible says that his heart was lifted up with pride….listen…

Dan 5:20-21

20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

At the height of his pride, God brought Nebuchadnezzar down…He brought him down so low that he was like the beast of the field…til he came to the understanding of who God was…and that the only reason that He ever became a King was because God allowed it.

· Job, don’t you understand that everything that you are, everything that you ever owned came from God?

· Nebuchadnezzar, yes you were a great man, yes you ruled a powerful nation…but it was God that appointed you over it.

Let’s not get caught up with our accomplishments on this earth…if we do, God will humble us, and give our place to somebody else.

Our righteousness is as filthy rags!

Every once in a while we need to check our pride! If you feel like God is resisting you and your situation…check your pride!

God resists the proud! And gives grace to the humble!

Examine your heart for pride that might have crept in unawares…..

· Lord, don’t let my thinking and my flesh interfere with your will.

· Lord, show me your way!

· Lord, help us understand that we owe it all to you!

· I am not anything without you Lord!

If it wasn’t for your mercy, and your grace….I would be as lost as I could be!

In closing….I read one more verse tonight….

Isa 57:15

15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place,with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

God dwells in heaven, with those of a contrite and humble spirit!

We will never make it to heaven with pride in our hearts…it simply is not possible.

Let’s humble ourselves at the altar of God tonight!