Pride’s Destruction

An apprehensive female traveller approaching the gangway of an enormous new passenger liner gazes up in amazement at its looming hulk. "Is this ship really unsinkable?" she nervously inquires of a nearby deck hand.

"Yes, lady," the deck hand answers. "God himself could not sink this ship."

Everyone was so sure was unsinkable that it carried only enough lifeboats to seat a third of it's passengers In fact, it wasn't as unsinkable as the engineering of the era allowed, and it was less "unsinkable" than a ship constructed over half a century earlier. April 10 maiden voyage 2,224 people boarded Titanic Four days latter she hit an iceberg and only 705 people rescued. 1502 people had died

- What comes to mind when you hear the word pride? Cockiness? Aloofness? Arrogance?

- Ego is a Latin word meaning "I" “self” “conceit”

It was a custom in Rome, that when the emperor went out upon some grand day in all his imperial pomp, there was an officer appointed to burn flax before him, crying out, “Sic transit gloria mundi”; "Thus passes the glory of the world” or "Worldly things are fleeting." which was done to put him in mind that all his honour and grandeur should soon vanish away like the smoke from the burning flax

Herod, A Man Given to Sinfulness

• Uncaring of the Gospel

• His persecution was for selfish ambition

• Sin causes cynicism (questioning the motives of others)

• A man’s life meant nothing to him

• He ordered 16 soldiers killed after Peter’s escape

• Today sin can justify killing an unborn child for the sake of convenience. It can easily sanction euthanasia

Sin will do anything to achieves its desired ends

• He would have killed Peter to make the Jewish leaders happy

Herod unhappy with Tyre & Sidon

They bribed Blastus (chamberlain) personal servant, butler

Now seeking flattery with his speech

- Herod had killed James, imprisoned Peter, and massacred his own guards, and now accepted Divine homage

Herod’s End

v. 19 - He sinned because he wanted to

v. 20 - He became arrogant

v. 21 - He allowed pride to consume him

v. 23 - He did not give glory to God

Pr 16:18 (AV)

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

Proverbs 16:18 (The Message)

18 First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

Exodus 20:3 (AV)

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

1 Peter 5:5 (AV)

5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

The Pride Cycle

At any point it can change

Forward or Backward

• Righteous Prosperous

• Pride Arrogance

• War Famine

• Humble Repent

JUDGES - Israel went through the Sin Cycle

Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon,

• Sin – 3:1-7

• Suffering – 3:8

• Supplication – 3:9

• Salvation – 3:9-10

• Silence – 3:11

Power of God

- Similar justice with Pharaoh, Belshazzar,

Angels have often done such work before

(Exodus 12:21; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Samuel 24:16).

- The justice of this man’s fate is clear.

Philippians 3:7–11 (AV)

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Pharaoh &

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Refuse and Die

In the "last memorable, days of France's liberation" a soldier wrote home: "We have seen many strange sights. Recently we have raced on day after day, meeting great crowds of Ger¬mans along the way jumping and shout¬ing for joy at the thought of being taken prisoner! Now and then an old S. S. man is brought in — stern, truculent, and dour. One of those fanatics was carried in the other day, badly wounded. He required an immediate blood trans¬fusion, and was quickly told so by one af the doctors. 'Will it be British blood?' asked the German. 'Yes; good, British blood,' replied the doctor, who added, solemnly, 'If you refuse it, you will die!' Then,' answered the proud Nazi curtly, I would rather die.' A short time af¬terward his body was carried out for burial." No wonder the British Tom¬mies exclaimed of this poor, deluded man, "What a fool!" Every day men and women are being fooled even more than this German — fooled into believing that they would rather die without mercy than accept God's salvation, pur¬chased at infinite cost, by the blood of Christ Too proud to accept the. Gift is the reason many are perishing

- We need to pray every day to be ready to meet the King of Kings

- “From sudden death, good Lord deliver us.”