There is a spiritual battle taking place right now. Our adversary is skilled and conniving in his attack. We must resolve to avoid ignorance of his schemes and learn how to follow Jesus’ instructions as we are swept up in this war.
Preliminaries:
- Satan’s sin was pride – the primal root of all sin
Observations: 4 Kinds of Pride
- Authority – Manifest as Control
– Self-love / self-service
Ezekiel 28:2 – “In the pride of your heart…”
Isaiah 14:13 – “I will ascend to heaven…”
Where are you seeking to control others? Where are you holding to your own will? - Achievement – Manifest as Conceit
– Self-congratulations / self-righteousness|
Ezekiel 28:2 – “you say, ‘I am a god’”
Isaiah 14:13 – “I will raise my throne above the stars of God…”
How often to you mention your own accomplishments, degrees, awards or accolades? - Arrogance – Manifest as Confidence
– Self-confidence / self-security
Ezekiel 28:2 – “I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas”
Isaiah 14:14 – “I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.”
How well do you receive instruction, correct, reproof or rebuke? - Attention – Manifest as Credit
– Self-esteem / Self-pity
Ezekiel 28:2 “you think you are as wise as a god”
Isaiah 14:14 – “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Where do you feel unacknowledged or unrecognized? Where are you seeking recognition?
Conclusions: Pride leaves you blinded to:
- Identify sin
- Need for Christ
- Your unity with others
Application: Counterattack for Pride
- Godly Sorrow
- Hold to Christ alone
- Humility
1 Timothy 3:6
“He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.”
James 4:13-15
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
Isaiah 14:12-15
“How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.”
Proverbs 16:18
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Proverbs 16:5
“The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 12:15
“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.”
Jeremiah 13:15-17
“Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to utter darkness and change it to deep gloom. If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.”
Proverbs 3:34
“He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.”
Ezekiel 28:17
“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”
John Piper
“Self-pity does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride.”
Genesis 3:1-6
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-2
“It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you?”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you”
Galatians 5:25-26
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.”
Romans 12:3-5
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Philippians 2:2-4
“Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
James 4:9
“Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.”
2 Corinthians 7:10
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-2
“It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you?”
James 4:7-8
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
James 4:10
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
1 Peter 5:6-10
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
2 Corinthians 12:7
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”