Intro>Steven Spielberg and George Lucas would like for you and I to believe that Star Wars are taking place in a galaxy far, far away....and maybe there are star wars going on! It certainly wouldn’t in any way diminish God’s majesty if He has actually created other beings on other planets in other solar systems.
<>However, you don’t have to go anywhere else to find Star Wars happening.
-You don’t have to go to another galaxy.
-You don’t have to leave the planet.
-You don’t have to leave the country.
-You don’t have to leave the county.
<>In fact, you don’t even have to leave this room!
-->Star wars are going on in our own lives!
<>There’s a battle raging within that will determine who will be the “star” of our lives, either us or Jesus.
-It is a “war” that will reveal Who will be the Master of our universe.
-Will we delude ourselves into thinking we’re that important, that powerful?
-Or will we choose to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord?
I invite you to open a Bible and turn to 1 John.
While you’re turning, let me state it clearly...EVERYONE is vulnerable to the menace of PRIDE...the temptation to elevate our views of ourselves or our accomplishments out of proportion.
-It’s part of being “fleshly” beings.
-Even pastors fall victim.
--ILL>Recently a pastor received a Christmas card with a note in it from a lady who attended a Christmas Eve service at the church. She was very complimentary about his preaching, comparing him with Billy Graham, saying, “I think you are one of the really great preachers of all time.” Later that day he showed the note to his wife. She asked, “Who is that woman?” The pastor replied, with a twinkle in his eye, “She is a very intelligent woman in the congregation who loves great preaching.” He then asked his wife, “How many great preachers do you suppose there really are in the world?” Without missing a beat, his wife replied, “Obviously there is one less than you think.”
--ILL>And then there was the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but he was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it.
--ILL>In contrast, Winston Churchill was once asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is filled to overflowing?” Churchill replied, “It is quite flattering, but whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big.”
Today I want us to look at...WHAT PRIDE IS, WHY IT’S SO BAD, AND WHAT WE SHOULD DO ABOUT IT IN OUR LIVES.
1) WHAT PRIDE IS.
<>It’s important to understand that there are actually two kinds of pride:
->GOOD pride...with a focus on excellence.
---2 Corinthians 9:24 -- "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."
---Wanting to do your best, wanting to look your best, to “give of your best to the Master” is a GOOD THING.
---Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that we should run the race to win...to focus on excellence...to give our very best at what we do.
---There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your school, being proud to be an Okey from Muskogee, or proud to be an American.
---But the kind of pride involved in the spiritual star wars we battle in our lives is NOT the good kind.
->SINFUL PRIDE...with a distorted and improper focus on self-importance or self-worship.
---Rom.12:16 -- "...do not be haughty in mind...Do not be wise in your own estimation."
---ILL>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 on Sunday and can’t help thinking I’m the prettiest girl in the congregation. I know I ought not think that, but I can’t help it. I want you to help me with it.” The pastor told her, “Mary, don’t worry about it. In your case its not a sin. It’s just a horrible mistake.”
---In 1 John this kind of pride is deemed worldly, sinful.
---1 John 2:16 -- "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."
---It is this kind of pride that we usually think of when we’re discussing pride.
---During the Middle Ages, Christian painters and writers “categorized” seven “deadly sins” as lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and (you guessed it)...Pride.
2) WHY IT IS SO BAD...
a) GOD HATES IT.
--Prov.8:13 -- "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate."
->The Bible is full of passages that tell us how God feels about pride.
--In Proverbs 6:16, God tells us there are seven things He really hates, and the first one on the list is PRIDE.
---Not murder, not adultery, not covetousness, but pride!
--In Proverbs 8:13, God continues, saying, "...pride and arrogance...I hate."
--So, God hates the sin of pride.
--Notice: God doesn’t hate the prideful person, but He hates the pride that’s in that person.
--What God wants to see, what He’s pleased with, is HUMILITY, MEEKNESS.
---Prov.18:12 -- "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor."
---1 Pet.5:6 -- "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time."
---QUOTE>M. R. DeHaan has noted, “Humility is something we should constantly pray for, yet never thank God that we have.”
---ILL>In an old episode from the t.v. show, “Mash,” Hawkeye Pierce is heard describing his co-worker and fellow surgeon, Major Winchester, saying, “If you ask him he’ll tell you that of all his great qualities, he considers his very best to be his humility.”
---QUOTE>Tony Campolo encourages us to remember: “If you ever start to feel proud, just remember that soon after your body has been lowered into the grave, your family and friends will be eating potato salad and telling jokes, and you’ll be history.”
---We sing it around here sometimes: “Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up...higher and higher.”
--Understand, meekness doesn’t mean weakness or being wimpy.
---It’s the picture of a tamed horse. The power and strength is all still there, but now it has been willingly submitted to the will of another.
--In our case, it is a submission to God’s will.
--The contrast being pride and humility is clearly seen in the parable we read earlier (Luke 18:9-14)...
---The Pharisee “prayed to himself”...he was proud that he wasn’t like other people: swindlers, adulterers, tax collectors.
----He was PROUD that he fasted twice a week (which completely negates the purpose of fasting), paid his tithes, etc.
---In contrast, the tax collector...was so stricken with the gravity of his sin he didn’t even feel worthy to lift his eyes to heaven.
----He too was a wealthy man, but his wealth was not primary in his thoughts.
----But instead, he beat his breast, he prayed, and cried out, “God, be merciful to me, THE sinner.”
----Notice: In his mind he felt like more of a sinner than anyone...he called himself THE sinner...the chief of sinners.
<>Why does God hate pride so much?
Because of these additional things we need to know about it:
b) PRIDE STANDS OPPOSED TO GOD.
--James 4:6 -- "...God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
-->Pride is basically an anti-God way of thinking.
---It’s saying to God, “MY agenda is more important than Yours. MY wants are more important than what You want.”
---QUOTE>Mary Lewis states, “Pride, the idolatrous worship of self, is the national religion of hell.”
-->Pride can be present without our first realizing it.
---Attitudes like “I can do it myself” or “I don’t need anyone else” are common with prideful people.
---Another attitude: “I want it done my way” or “Here, let me do it, you’ll just mess it up” are tell-tale signs you’re placing yourself on a pedestal, placing yourself above others, placing yourself where God alone belongs.
-->You see, only God is perfect, infallible.
---And only His ways are always right.
-->And, the truth is that you are not God!
---You’re not infallible, you’re fallible.
---You’re not all-capable, you’re limited as a finite being.
---It is only through Christ that you can do all things...because apart from Him you can do nothing.
---ILL>Alex Haley, the author of “Roots,” kept a picture in his office showing a turtle atop a fence. He explained: “It’s there to remind me of a lesson I learned long ago: If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help. So, anytime I start thinking, ‘Wow, isn’t this thing marvelous that I just did?!’ I look at that picture and remember I didn’t do it by myself...I had help from others.”
c) PRIDE IS THE SPRINGBOARD TO FURTHER SIN...and it leads to a destroyed life.
--Prov.16:18 -- "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty sprit before stumbling."
--Or, from “The Message”: "First pride, then the crash; the bigger the ego, the harder the fall."
-->Pride is the “slippery slope” that leads to all kinds of bad stuff in our lives.
-->In fact, the case can be made that ALL sin is based on pride and the selfishness inherent within pride:
---If you cheat, you’re basically saying, “It’s okay, because it serves my need.”
---If you lie, you’re basically saying, “I don’t want to tell the truth because I’m afraid I might look bad.”
---If you commit adultery, you’re saying you want something for yourself, despite the fact that it belongs to someone else, and you want it so much you won’t stop at any limit until you get it.
3) WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT...
We need to take three important steps:
a) RECOGNIZE IT.
--This is the first step to solving any problem: Recognize it is a problem, that it’s present in your life and needs to be gone.
--In the New Testament, the “rich fool” heard God call him a fool!
---He had become blinded to his limitations, had become so self-centered he had a distorted view of his own importance.
--In the Old Testament, Job heard God “put him in his place,” as God chastised him for trying to tell God how to do things:
---“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 of the eastern sky or Who brings dawn upon the horizon?”
---“Do you guide the peacocks in their nesting?”
---“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?”
-->In other words, we need to step back and take a pride check...remembering that we are the creation, not the Creator.
---ILL>George Washington Carver, the scientist who developed hundreds of useful products from the peanut, once said, “When I was young, I said to God, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the universe,’ but God answered, ‘That knowledge is reserved for Me alone.’ So I said, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then God said, ‘Well, George, that’s more nearly your size.’ And He told me.”
APP>Today, I invite you to “check your pride at the door,” do a personal examination and see which side you’re on the star wars occurring in your life.
->Take a look at these nine symptoms in recognizing the wrong kind of pride in your own life:
--1) A Spotty, Inconsistent Prayer Life.
----If my prayer life is less than consistent, it suggests I’m not actively relying on God, I’m not aware of my need for Him, and that I’m trying, instead, to be self-sufficient, handling matters on my own, rather than depending upon and waiting upon Him to lead me.
--2) Weariness.
----Weariness is often the result of trying to do more than God intends, which means I’m not letting Him order my day.
--3) Bursts of Anger.
----This can mean I’m not trusting God’s sovereign plan and timing, and that I’m trying to take control from Him.
--4) A Critical, Judgmental Spirit.
----Bringing others down in order to lift myself up often points to an inflated sense of self.
--5) Defensive Reactions To Criticism.
----If I’m not willing to listen to criticism or suggestions, it can mean I think too highly of myself, and that I mistakenly feel there is not way for me to improve.
--6) Being Despondent After Failure.
----This can also show up as an inability to laugh at my own mistakes, and suggests I’m taking myself and minor matters far too seriously, that my priorities are way out of line, and that I have the attitude that everything depends upon me.
--7) Taking Responsibility Or Credit For Successes, Accomplishments.
----It may mean I’ve lost sight of God’s gracious and undeserved provision, that it was Him working within me, and not me alone, that brought about the good result....And, there might have been other people who contributed to it also.
---ILL>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.”
---ILL>Similarly, the story is told of two kindly ducks and a prideful frog. All three of them lived together on a lovely pond. However, the pond dried up. “It’s no problem for us,” the ducks said to each other. “We can just fly away to another pond. But, frog can’t do that.” So, they came up with a plan...they got a long stick and placed it in their beaks, each one of them holding one end. Then the frog grabbed hold of the stick, holding on to the stick by his mouth, in between the two ducks. That enabled them to fly away to another pond. Everything was going well, they were mid-air and on their way when a man on the ground below saw them and remarked, “That’s a wonderful idea! Whose was it?” The prideful frog just couldn’t help himself, and, in mid-flight far above the ground, fatally opened his mouth to say, “It was mine!” .
--8) Impatience.
----Resenting the idea that I might actually have to listen to someone, or I might actually have to wait in line just like everyone else, all suggests I might have an overdeveloped sense of self-importance, and be harboring a feeling of superiority over others.
--9) An Unwillingness To Associate With Others.
----Rom.12:16 -- "Don’t be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position."
----Being unwilling to get to know other people, especially people I think don’t live up to my own standards, points to fact that I may be appointing myself as judge, elevating myself to being better than others.
b) REPENT OF IT.
->Notice: Scripture tells you to humble YOURSELF.
--In other words, you make the first move before God has to humble you anyway.
-->We should exhibit the same attitude as the tax collector: “Have mercy on me, God, THE sinner.”
c) READY YOURSELF TO FIGHT PRIDE EVERY DAY.
->Pride is an on-going “star war” and we need to be on the alert, ready for it every day.
--The good news is that MORE than “the force” is with us...GOD is with us.
BRINGING IT HOME...
-If you’re here today and have yet to ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life, that’s really the worst pride of all, believing you don’t really need God.
---I encourage you today to repent, and to receive Him today.
-But if you HAVE asked Jesus into your life, you are a believer, then let me ask you a question:
--In God’s kingdom, which part are you trying to play?
---Are you trying to be the King? Or are you willing to be the “dom,” the subject / servant of the King?
<>Remember, it’s not just in a galaxy far, far away, but wherever you go this week...that a victory in the Star Wars needs to be won.
