Introductory Comments
1. It was a sinister looking scene. Before me stood carts covered with all kinds of objects - sharp probing picks, drill heads, and other objects I could not identify, except for the syringe that looked larger than any I had ever seen before. In the middle if the carts was the chair that I was expected to sit in. I had never had this procedure before and I was surprised at how threatening it seemed. I was about to undergo a root canal. But I was spared. After sitting down, the dentist took a final look in my mouth. And whether it was because the tooth was in worse shape than he had thought or because he could see my apprehension, he gave a final verdict, "The tooth should come out". No root canal, just a simple pulled tooth.
2. A root canal is supposed to be a painful and long experience. I’m thakful that I only know this because of what I’ve been told. A root canal is necessary when your tooth’s nerve chamber becomes infected by decay. A root canal treatment is often the only way to save your tooth. Inside your tooth’s hard outer shell is a nourishing pulp of blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves. The root’s canal, allow these vessels and nerves to extend to the bone. Deep tooth decay, or injury can cause serious damage and infection to the pulps nerves and vessels. A root canal cleans out the infected pulp chamber and canals. Then the roots can again provide health to the tooth.
3. Today I will begin to perform a root canal on you. I am not a dentist but the procedure I use has been entrusted to me by God. This root canal will go deeper than the roots of our teeth. The procedure may be painful and long, and yet it is necessary if you, if we as a church, want to live healthy, growing, godly lives.
4. The infections we will look at and try to clean out has been called "seven deadly sins", not to be confused with the mortal sins of the Roman Catholic church. But rather seven sins that lie deep within us and infect our purity, our character, our relationship with God and our relationships with one another. These sins lead to others sins and they must be dealt with. They are the root of our problems.
5. These sins are pride, avarice, envy, wrath or anger, sloth, lust and gluttony.
6. I ask that each of us honestly look at ourselves and ask God to reveal these sins to us and to cleanse us of them. Then, according to God’s promise, we will be purified. 1 John 1:8,9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
7. Today we begin by looking at pride - perhaps the deadliest of all sins.. We first considera n example of pridei n the bible.
Teaching
1. We go back to the time when the people of Israel were held captive in Babylon. We begin with King Nebuchadnezzar (N.), the king of Babylon.
2. In Daniel 3 we read that he made an image of gold 90 feet high. The image was probably of the god Nabu, but the name of this god also formed the first part of Nebuchadnezzar’s name. All people were commanded to fall down and worship the iamge whenever N. decided. They were to worship a false god, and by doing so they worshipped N. because of his name and because they were obeying his command.
a. As we may know the story, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to do so and were thrown into a firey furnace. When N. saw that God spared them, he praised God and acknowledged His greatness to all peoples.
b. But soon after, N. had a dream that only Daniel could interpret. The dream said that N. would become as a madman, with the mind of an animal. He would live with wild animal for seven years until he would acknowledge that God is sovereign. And the dream came to pass.
3. In today’s passage, Daniel is talking to Belshazzar (B.), N’s son. He has seen the writing on the wall, literally, and Daniel has come to intrepret this writing. In his interpretation, Daniel reminds him of what had happened to his father and why. Read Daniel 5:20-21.
4. And even though Belshazzar knew this, he did not humble himself. Vs. 23 says that he set himself up against the God ofheaven. And as a result B. would lose his kingdom.
5. Both N. and B. were inflicted with the sin of pride. As we read, pride is "setting yourself up against the Lord of heaven". Pride is not acknowledging that God is sovereign. Pride is elevating ourselves higher than we ought to
- a. Is Satan in heaven saying (Isa 14:13) "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
b. It is Eve eating of the apple when she was told that it would making her to be like God.
c. It is the people building the tower of Babel to reach the heavens so they could make a name for themselves.
6. Pride is when we start thinking of ourselves. When we think we are what is most important. It is the "I" disease. It makes us think that we are more important than God. That the things we have accomplished or accumulated are due to our own power and abilities rather than God. It is making ourselves sovereign over our lives rather than acknowledging God’s sovereignty. It is making ourselves to be God and thereby breaking the command not to" make any gods before me."
7. A short word about insecurity. Many of us are insecure and we could say we feel bad about ourselves. Yet this is still have a form of pride. To be insecure is still to focus on self. It is to focus on own weaknesses rather than on strength of God.
8. Pride leads to others sins. We shall consider this later, but in Daniel we read how N’s pride grace him the right to kill others and do whatever he wanted. He only had to answer to himself.
9. We see how powerful pride is. It is a sin that is hard to get rid of. Even though N saw power of God in furnace and praised His name, He again was infected by pride. That is why God drove him away for seven years. In fact to think it took seven years before his pride was broken - seven years living as a wild animal when he could have been in his throne. The infection of pride is so deep and bad it is hard to remove. And then, even though B knew all this, still set himself up against God.
10. Pride is based on a falsehood. It places us above that which we can safely stand. The taller we are the more easily we are toppled by the winds of life. Spurgeon described pride as standing on a bubble. We may feel secure but sooner or later the bubble will break.
11. And the result of pride is the fall..
a. Prov 18:12. Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
b. Isa 2:11 The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
c. We see it with N and B. B. would loose his kingdom.
d. - We see it as Satan was expelled from heaven, as Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden.
e. We see it as God scatters those who would build a tower to heaven.
f. We see it throughout God’s word and we see it in our lives.
12. Pride is horrible, the chief of sins. It separates us from God.
a. To come to God in the first place and to repent means that we must be humble. First - to admit our sins. Pride prevents us from seeing any wrong in ourselves. That stops us from asking Christ to be our Saviour - we don’t need Him.
b. And we need to admit that we cannot save ourselves, but only God can. To admit that God is sovereign and not us. It is hard to ask for help - I can do it myself.
c. Third - we need to give control over lives to God Pride says don’t, you can do a better job at it.
d. And even after we humble ourselves and repent, pride comes back. Even though we have acknowledged need for God, we take problems back and try to solve them on our own. We waste time trying to solve them on own, we waste time trying to give glory to self rather than to God. We receive blessing from God and then claim credit for them ourselves.
e. We see this with Satan. Ezek 28:14-17 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 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.
13. All this separates us from God. How is pride hurting your relationship with God? Has it stopped you from putting life in His hands? Does it stop you from spending time with Him?
14. Pride is what hurts us in our relationships - in church, in families, with friends. Pride makes us stubborn - I’m right, she’s wrong. It stops us from forgiving. Pride makes us put up false fronts. "I’m not letting anyone else know my sins and weakness." It creates walls of pretension. Pride makes us try to show we are better. Pride makes us think we are better or know more than the other. We become proud of what we do, read.
15. It makes me work for salvation rather than to receive it freely. It removes grace of God from us, as w far as we see it, and makes us less gracious toward others. We become more judgmental. Pride makes us put the other down. We look down on another because he is black or oriental.
16. Pride - how is it affecting you? Are you afraid to serve because you may fail? Afraid to share faith because of what others will think? Afraid to pray out loud because of how you might sound? Afraid to reach out to someone because they might reject you? Afraid to be vulnerable because you might get hurt?
17. If answer to any of these is yes, the problem is one of pride - of placing more importance on self than on God.
18. How is pride affecting you? Is it stopping you from growing spiritually and preventing God? Is it stopping us from being a church that God wants to use?
19. A root canal is needed to remove pride. A long, hard, painful process, but is necessary.
20. Start know by confessing our pride - to God and to one another. It is humbling to do so.
21. Let us ask for God’s help.
