8/22/2020
We know God wants us to spend eternity with Him. So what is keeping us from answering the conviction of the Holy Spirit? What keeps a Christian from living out their freedom in Christ Jesus? It is the same thing that keeps the sinner from giving their life to Christ.
PRIDE
We approach God in humility because of who He is and what He has done for us, but the fight to stay humble is real.
Focus on the Family wrote a great article on pride and humility. These exerts really hit home for me and helped my understanding of what God was having me deal with within myself. “This might become clearer if we were to translate the word “pride” as “arrogance” or “haughtiness… On the other side of the coin, it’s important to understand that biblical humility isn’t about self-hatred or self-debasement. It would be more accurate to describe it as a kind of self-forgetfulness. It’s a matter of knowing your place and embracing your role in the bigger scheme of things. It’s about fulfilling God’s purpose for your life with enthusiasm and zeal no matter how you feel. It’s a question of putting other people’s interests ahead of your own” (Focus On The Family “Pride, Humility, and Self-Esteem” 2019).
One of the first things I think about when I consider the word pride is the expression pride comes before the fall. This expression originates from scriptures in Proverbs, specifically 18“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). Pride is usually associated with Lucifer and his fall from heaven. Ezekiel 28:11-19 speaks specifically about Lucifer. The beauty and wisdom that God crafted into him. The Holy Spirit reveals the splendor that was Lucifer’s design to Ezekiel. Lucifer’s pride was born of that splendor. 16“By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire”(Ezekiel 28:16). The fall of Lucifer is a warning. Pride is a condition of the heart and it can be cultivated while serving God. Look how God tells Ezekiel Lucifer was internally filled with violence, which lead him to sin while performing his trade. In Isaiah God specifically states that Lucifer desired God’s throne and was thus cast down. 13“But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north” (Isaiah 14:13). Again God makes this perfectly clear, that pride comes from the heart of our being. Lucifer’s pride grew and was cultivated while he was serving God in the way God intended. At some point Lucifer’s perspective turned from his God centered purpose to a focus on himself. At some point Lucifer began to believe he deserved what God alone can posses, that he could essentially become God by taking His place.
I’ve said it before, and this is a prime example. As I write these pages God is teaching me through them. At this point I got stuck. I was trying to understand where Lucifer’s pride came from, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Now I could have sat here for days, stuck in my own pride trying to figure it out. I mean I’m a smart guy right? I had a feeling God wasn’t going to reveal this part to me. He was was going to use it as a means of teaching me. God is working on my brother at the same time as He is me. We’re both learning about pride, and where we’ve allowed that stronghold to setup in our lives. So rather than sit here stuck in my pride and rely on my own understanding, I need to seek His. Scripture even tells us not to in the book of Proverbs. 5“Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight”(Proverbs 3:5-6). A lot of wisdom in Proverbs, one of my favorite books in the Bible. All wisdom comes from God. So in humility to God, I sought out His church to see what God was teaching them about pride. More specifically, I went to talk to my bother the next day while we were at work. I brought up exactly what I was writing about in the paragraph above. Sure enough, he had recently watched a sermon series by Robert Morris. He is the pastor of Gateway Church in Texas. The sermon series is called The Kings of Babylon. I recommend checking it out on YouTube. Through his sermons Pastor Morris explains how our insecurities can cultivate pride within our hearts. It made a lot sense to me, and it was the missing piece in understanding what happened to Lucifer and what can happen to us if we’re not allowing ourselves to be humbled before God.
God is perfection manifest. He is all powerful, all knowing, and ever lasting creator of all things. No one can ever be equal to God. We have a choice just a Lucifer did. We can let God humble us and allow Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, or we can choose to let our pride twist our hearts and lead us to chase the lie of self righteousness. Jesus warned the religious leaders time and time again about their pride. 43“Therefor I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. 45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them” (Matthew 21:43-45). Sin is our big picture problem. It occurs when we allow things like pride to take root in our hearts. When you admit you are a sinner and repent, you fall on the rock of Jesus and the truth breaks your pride. Once broken, sanctification is the process where God begins to put your heart back together. He begins to teach us how to be like Jesus. God can’t teach a prideful heart, because we won’t believe we need Him. The cracks in your heart, the insecurities in us, are either filled with the same grace and love God showed us, or with our desire to play god, like how it consumed Lucifer. The Pharisees were so consumed by their pride, that it lead them to kill the very God they claimed to worship in order to keep their worldly status. It can happen to us also if we don’t stay centered in the word of God.
I said that the idea of insecurities was the key that kept me from knowing why Lucifer rebelled against God. Go back and read how God described Lucifer. It sounds like he is a very awesome creation of God. In all the splendor and perfection that God put into him, when Lucifer compared himself to God, he fell short. No matter who stands before God, we will always fall short of who He is. Always. Always. We have a choice. Do we praise God for who He is, for allowing us into His holy, holy, holy presence? Or do we resent His perfection and desire it for ourselves? This was the temptation in Eden. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Through this act of disobedience, sin entered the hearts of mankind, and our default nature changed to evil.
Pride does keep people from putting their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. A prideful heart must be humbled before a person will repent and be saved, but the constant warnings of pride in the word of God are for His church as well. Just as it was with Lucifer, those of us serving in the church must be aware of the temptation to let pride rule our lives. Pride is the false reality of how we see ourselves. We see ourselves as haughty or in a better light then we really are. It blinds us to our insecurities, and causes us to project them on other people. It gives rise to vanity, how we want others to see ourselves. We begin to present a false presentation of ourselves to others to cement the lie of pride. Jesus is constantly warning His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In Matthew 16 and Luke 12 Jesus compares it to leaven or yeast. The religious leaders were preaching the law to oppress and exploit the Jewish people. They would preach one thing and then in secret, they would live in contrary to the law. They were the wealthiest and most influential echelon of society. Jesus knew this. He sees into the hearts of all mankind. This is why Jesus said 1“…’Beware of the leaven of the Pharisee, which is hypocrisy. 2But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops” (Luke 12: 1-3). The Pharisees thought themselves righteous, and through their self righteousness, did as they pleased, not as Jesus taught. The Sermon on the Mount is probably the most famous instruction given by Jesus. It’s found in Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7. Through His teachings Jesus raises the bar on the expectations given to to the Jews through the law. Jesus explains in beginning of the sermon (Matthew 5:17-20) that He did not come to remove the law but to fulfill it, and the law will stand until the end of days, when heaven and earth are remade. He concludes that section of teaching with this. “‘For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven'” (Matthew 5:20). Our righteousness cannot be based on our accomplishments, our traditions, or our status. These are worldly standards that will leave us bankrupt before the judgement of Jesus. He sees our hearts. He knows if pride and vanity are driving our actions. If you preach Christ crucified because its a great way to fill your bank account, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. This is what Jesus said 21“‘Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name case out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS'” (Matthew 7: 21-23 NASB1995). Heavy words. I’ve heard this passage of scripture used to denounce charismatics in the church. It’s been used to try to claim God does not perform miracles through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe that is what this scripture is staying at all. I believe it means exactly what it states. Like the Pharisees, you can claim righteousness. You can claim Jesus is your Lord, you can even cast out demons and perform miracles in the name of Jesus, because there is POWER in the name of Jesus. But your heart will reflect whether or not you have a relationship with Jesus. If you haven’t given your life to God by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, all the miracles in the world cannot justify you before the judgement seat of Jesus.
Miracles happen. The gifts of the Spirit are real. I’ve seen people healed and God has shown me visions of things before they happened. A grandmother of a friend was sick in the hospital. The doctors had done everything they could do. They couldn’t figure our how to make her better, and had told the family its just a matter of time before she died. A group of believers were asked to come pray over her, so we did. Shortly after we left the hospital, she had vomited up some kind of hard infectious ball, and recovered. God does heal, and he uses his children as servants for these things, but it is when and how He sees fit according to His plans, not ours. Everything is done for His glory. When I was young in the faith, having seen these things, I wanted to pray for everyone. Pray for their healing. The thought was good, but here I am years later, realizing I wanted it for my glory. I thought how cool it was, and how amazing it was. It was amazing, but my heart wasn’t in it for the glory of God. I was in it because I thought it made me a good Christian. Spend time in the word. Examine your heart through the scriptures. Let God sanctify you. It’s a tough process. It will expose your insecurities, and to be humbled is to acknowledge our short falls and surrender ourselves to God’s plan for our lives. That includes using our insecurities to demonstrate His glory. That is what He can do through our obedience to Him despite our flaws. Whatever service we provide for God and His kingdom, we can’t loose sight of our service to Him. Jesus speaks of this over and over. 17The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven” ( Luke 10:17,19-20).
The concept of humility defined in the beginning of this article is supported with this scripture from the gospel of Luke. It is also the scripture that started my journey of allowing God to expose and remove the prideful areas in my heart. 7“Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? 8But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? 9He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:7-10). When we are being obedient and grinding out what ever God has us doing, do we remain grateful for the cross, or are we like the servant He’s warning us about? A bragging and boastful servant before God always saying how great of a servant he is and boasting for a reward? I like the use of the word slave in this translation, because we’re all the slaves to something. It could be greed, lust, power, knowledge, addiction, fame, etc. These are the things of the world we use to fill our insecurities. The more we strive for these things, the more they take from us.
So what’s this look like in my life? I mentioned earlier that when I was stuck, God directed me to my brother. Christians need to surround themselves with fellow believers who we can be honest with. People we can walk with and learn from each other what God has been teaching us. A few days later my brother was telling me about how God was revealing pride is certain areas and behaviors in his life. My brother had been under serious conviction about this and he was sharing all of that with me. He was telling me how I should see the areas of pride in my life. I agreed with what my brother was saying, as far as I had some of the same issues in my life. I could tell I had prideful areas in my life, the same way he did. Rightly so since we’re brothers and we come from the a lot of the same life experiences growing up. As he was sincerely trying to tell me of the harm those areas cause, I knew it, but it didn’t really affect me. It was like I was apathetic to my situation, and I really didn’t care. I knew I should care, but I really didn’t. Well while he was telling all of this, our coworker sitting next to us, we were on lunch break, gets up abruptly and dives into this rant about his experience at a cellular store and their poor customer service. He got very angry. He told us how he just tore into the customer service people there because they couldn’t fix his problem, and he’d wasted an entire day of his time. It was a huge inconvenience to his life. Scott and I looked at each other in almost bewilderment. Here is God showing us exactly what we’re talking about by convicting our coworker through our conversation. I’m even more befuddled at this point, because I’m thinking I’m the one that should be under conviction right now. As we were pointing out that his pride is what caused him to treat the customer service people so poorly, he tried to quote scripture in his defense. He used 1“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2For in the way you judge, you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1-3). A common scripture people try to use to defend their behaviors. My brother told him to finish the scripture. He just looked at us silent and angry. So we asked him again, to finish the entire scripture, to use it in context. At that point with a furled brow, he stormed out of the break room. The entire scripture he was taking out of context is 1“Do not judge so that you will not be judged; 2and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye” (Matthew 7:1-3)? A very prideful reaction. A humble heart would have stopped and asked what the rest of the scripture was. I thought a lot about that situation the rest of the day at work. When I got home, I was beginning to feel convicted, so I spent time in prayer asking God to show me the log in my eye. So I start reading the beatitudes, ending in the scripture our coworker was quoting out of context. I read the entire sermon on the mount which ends with the scripture I quoted earlier. “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and ACTS on them, may be compared to a wise man who build his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:21-24). At this point I’m under some heavy conviction, to the point were I just need to take a break. I decide to que up a Ted talk, because surely God can’t get to me through that…The ladies name was Susan David, and the talk was on emotional flexibility. She talked about how over positivity is ruining people’s ability to function in reality, and how it breeds denial in our lives. When she said the word denial, it was like a hot poker just got pushed through my eyeball. That word just about brought me to tears. I was in denial about my pride, and that was the moment it became very real to me.
The Holy Spirit wasn’t done there. I was aware of my pride, but I wasn’t free yet. That would come the next day. My bro sent me a text that night saying we should pray for our coworker about his pride since God was using us to expose his while working on ours as well. So I did, and the next day our coworker came into my office as he normally does first thing in the morning. He brought up the conversation we had the day before at lunch trying to justify his use of the scriptures. He kept referring to the sad state of human nature as the reason he gets so mad. Having to deal with people in such a state always made his blood boil, a state I can relate to from how I was before I was saved. I would correct him each time he mentioned the state of human nature. I would point out to him that is actually called sin, and its at the core of our short comings. He’d just shrug that off and continue trying to explain himself. He referenced Jesus in the temple when He was flipping over tax collector’s tables and running them out with a whip. He told me even Jesus got mad, so what was the problem with his own anger? The actual scripture is Matthew 21:12-17. I told him Jesus was mad because His people were desecrating God by turning His temple into a place of cheating and thievery. Jesus did not get mad to make His own ego bigger. After he ran out the thieves, He healed the sick and lame, and the people sang praises to God. Jesus said 54“…If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is God'”(John 8:54). What Jesus did was out of obedience to God the Father. He was not on earth for self achievement. He came because God the Father sent Him to die for the sin that drives us away from God. Jesus came to die in our place. And because of His obedience, God resurrected Jesus from the dead, granting all of us who believe it to be truth, forgiveness of our sin, and an everlasting joy in eternity with Him. My pride drives me to put myself before God, and just like Lucifer, it will drive me to desire to be above God, beholding to no one else but myself. This isn’t a Kung Fu movie. The student doesn’t become greater than the master. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master” (Matthew 10:24). When we begin to put our ways above the teachings of Jesus. When we believe the scriptures are not speaking to us. Pride is infecting our hearts, and we to need bring ourselves back to the saving grace of Jesus at the cross. It will be a continuing struggle. A man that discipled me very early on in my walk told me that time and time again we will need a personal revival in our hearts. To repent of our pride and to allow the humility of Christ to flow out of our hearts. As we go about our lives, doing what God asks us to do, if we do not stay focused on the Gospel message, pride will consume us also. Even with the unsaved, as people build experience and “move up” in the world, if they loose sight of where they came from, pride will consume them too. As Jesus would say, whoa to the rich, because they have always lived in a world where they are in want of nothing, and to them it is especially tough to understand people who aren’t. Like the Pharisees, who were born into riches, given the best educations, and taught they were the ones closest to God. They did not have a perspective of humility, they used the life saving word of God to control and manipulate the masses.
Pride calluses our heart to hide our insecurities, our short falls. So we’re to serve God in humility, which exposes those insecure parts of us…but what am I supposed to do with all of those insecurities? Paul said 6Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than I warranted by what I do or say, 7or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But He said to me. ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2Corinthians 12:6-10). Paul admits he could have banged his chest and said look how awesome I am because God gave me all of this knowledge and revelations, but rather Paul chose to resist his pride and give the glory where it is due, to God who taught, directed, and empowered him through the Holy Spirit. As you peel back your pride it exposes your flaws. It becomes even tougher still as Paul mentions hardships, insults and persecutions being added to on top of his personal internalized struggles. Many people preach Paul’s thorn, trying to figure out what his sins were. I believe this is so we can try to justify whatever sin we enjoy…if Paul had one…two…or even three…then so can we. We preach Paul because Jesus is perfect obedience made flesh and it hits against our pride. We know behind our pride is our weakness, and who wants to be exposed? Even Adam and Eve hid in the garden when their sin was exposed. The fruit of knowledge exposed their insecurities…they didn’t even know were there. Just like Lucifer, the perfection and splendor of God will expose our short comings. And like Paul we have a choice. To humble ourselves and submit all this to His glory, or let the conviction of the Holy Spirit bloat us out in pride. Remember scripture tells us “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). And Jesus warned us 1“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ 2And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3and said ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4‘Whoever then humbles himself like a child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever received one such child in My name received Me; 6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:1-6). This is where religion can really disrupt spiritual development. If people only see us acting out our false perfections, and not being honest with our struggles, it can lead to the stumbling blocks Jesus is talking about. When we pretend to have it all under control, it causes others to think they aren’t worthy of the love of Christ. Where that couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus died for everyone. 30“The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling and said to them, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ 31And Jesus answered and said to them. ‘It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance'” (Luke 5: 31-32).
My social anxiety, the feeling that I am not important walking into a new social environment. I used to hide that with alcohol. I became quite the social butterfly when I would drink, because it hid my issues. It covered my self centered reaction. Now, living for Christ, I find my fulfillment in Him. Jesus loves me, my importance is in Him…that leaves my spirit fulfilled. So when the insecurity is attached by the enemy, I can find my fulfillment in my relationship with Jesus. This allows me to enter into relationships and interactions with other people without needing them to fill my expectations of receiving attention and boosting my ego. It’s still tough though. I tend to be antisocial, so I am thankful for the grace and mercy of Jesus for the times when I still act to cover those insecurities for my own purposes, and the times when I try to fill it with worldly things like sex, attention, success, entertainment, etc. These things are distractions, and do not provide a permanent solution to the void we try to fill them with. It’s like a motivational speaker can get you pumped up, even expose your insecurities, but only Jesus can fill the hole that is uncovered. Everything else is fleeting, and only leaves us wanting more and more to find out it fills less and less of the missing pieces.
Revelations begins with Jesus giving John warnings for the seven churches. Jesus points out the good things these churches were doing, but also lets them know that Jesus also sees the sinful things as well. We can hide our transgressions from one another, but we cannot hide them from God. We have to let the simplicity of the Gospel keep us humble. Its not because of our actions that people are saved, but by the presence of the Holy Spirit moving through us. There is no other name than Jesus that someone can be saved from sin. Jesus came to earth, the begotten son of a virgin, lived a perfectly obedient life to Yahweh (He fulfilled the 10 commandments), was crucified for revealing Himself as God made flesh (the Messiah), died on the cross in our place(for the wages of sin is death) and was buried. On the third day He was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, He ascended into heaven where He is alive today, and He is seated at the right hand of God, interceding to God on our behalf. Those who repent of their sin and call on the name of Jesus will be saved, and the righteousness of Jesus will cover their sin through the judgement to come.
I write these chapters in hopes it would open your heart to the Holy Spirit and allow conviction into the areas of your life where pride has taken hold. Just as God did for me through this entire process. Once I was humbled God showed me how simple is was to over come my struggles. I just had to get out of the way, because it was something He showed me before I even started. I was just too prideful to understand. Pride kept me from writing this book. Pride that was covering up my fears. My fears of what God may ask me to do once this book is done. To share it with those who need to hear this message…me, this antisocial, introverted guy, who’d rather keep to himself. But one thing that does lite my heart on fire, is the Gospel of Christ. My need to lay myself down before the cross and to surrender my weaknesses to the glory of God the Father!
Revelations 12:10-11 “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”