Today we will conclude on the topic (God's Word concerning Pride) we started 3 days back.
We will look at reasons why we should not be Proud, different kinds of pride, categories of proud persons and how to recover from Pride (The deadly disease, The Sin of all Sins).SOME INSTANCES OF PRIDE IN THE SCRIPTURES
⦁ Kings of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:2)⦁ Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:30-34, 5:20)
⦁ Belshazzar (Dan 4:5)
⦁ Herod(Acts 12:23.)
⦁ Haman (Esther 5:11, Esther 6:6)
⦁ Ahithophel (2 Sam 17:23)
⦁ Uzziah (2 Chron 26:16-19)
⦁ Naaman, refusing to wash in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:11-13)
⦁ Amaziah Pride (14:8-14; 25:17-24)
⦁ Hezekiah, in displaying his resources (2 Chron 32)
⦁ Among others
PROMOTION COMES FROM GOD ALONE, DO NOT PROMOTE YOURSELF
SCRIPTURAL WARNINGS AGAINST PRIDE
Some children in the Ephesian church were not respecting and obeying their parents, and Paul reminded them that the Fifth Commandment still applied (Eph 6:1-3).The apostle John warned the saints to whom he sent his first epistle that the world was passing away, with all of its illusions, and that they had better keep themselves from idols (1 John 2:15-17; 5:21).
Jesus warned His disciples, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness" (Luke 12:15); Paul wrote to the Colossian believers that covetousness was idolatry (Col 3:5).
Paul cautioned the churches not to appoint young Christians to places of spiritual leadership, "lest being lifted up with pride [they] fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Tim 3:6). And John had to deal with proud Diotrephes who was running the church and wouldn't submit to the authority of God's apostle (3 John 9-11).
Alas, these sins are found in the church!
James was right: "My brethren [and sisters], these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10).
DON’T BE PROUD BECAUSE, IT IS
1. Very offensive to God.2. unlike Christ.
3. a source of misery to ourselves (it is ruinous).
4. prevents people from hearing God’s voice
5. a cause of serious evil both in the Church and the world.
Among others
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRIDE.
1. Race pride -- pride in ancestors.2. Face pride -- pride in outward appearance.
3. Place pride -- pride in social position.
4. Grace pride -- pride in godliness.
We have 3 Categories of Proud Persons (according to J. Bolton)
(1) Those that are very proud.(2) Those that are occasionally proud.
(3) Those that are struggling against pride.
FURTHER FORMS OF PRIDE
1. One form of pride is shame. Many kept from Christ because ashamed to come and give themselves up to Him. For fear of the paltry scorn, the momentary ridicule, the soul will risk eternity!2. There is the pride that conceals a wound. God's Word has stricken the heart; healing and joy could be had if we humbly go to God, yet hide the grief and unrest within, from man and Heaven.
3. There is the pride of self-righteousness. What say when before the Throne that you were too good to accept the Gospel?
Man's fallen nature encourages pride. Carnal nature is completely opposite of Jesus’s Nature (our Lord who willingly emptied Himself to become a servant, and then died as a sacrifice for our sins Phil 2).
HOW TO RECOVER FROM PRIDE
i) Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour (being born again)For Believers
ii) Counsel
iii) Prayer
iv) Deliverance from the Spirit of Pride
v) Study of the word of God
vi) Walking with the humble (avoid keeping proud friends)
John 13:1-17 and Phil 2:1-18.
0 comments:
Post a Comment