Last week I share with you about The Thief Named Grudge and I do hope that by exposing Grudge that we all are better equipped to keep our him from robbing us of the valuable things he steals from our lives; Joy, Time, and of course our focus.
I believe it is a great thing that we were able to expose the thief named grudge but we have among us other criminals that we must expose as well. This morning I want to expose to you; “The Con Artist Named Pride”
What is a con artist anyway? I found a really fascinating video this past week that features various types con artists that are seeking help in a support group. Watch this with me and see if you may have been conned by any of these artists.
VIDEO: Con Artist Support Group.
A con artist is someone who is skilled and experienced at devising and executing scams and other fraudulent schemes. In worldly terms, the purpose is normally to get as much money from a victim as possible, but to do so in a way the victim actually believes they are getting a benefit.
This is exactly how Pride works in our lives. And I believe that the Con Artist Named Pride is even craftier than any of our professional Con Artists from our video. He creeps into our lives, makes us feel comfortable, befriends us, and all the while he is taking as much of us as he possibly can.
Some of you may be sitting here this morning thinking to yourself about how this message will not apply to you because you tell yourself that you are too good to allow pride to affect you and that you never have had any problems with Pride because you are better than everyone else.
What is pride? Pride means to act arrogantly; a high opinion of ones worth, self-conceit.
We all know people that by their actions we would nominate them as prideful people. But let us be careful because pride shows up even in the lives of every person sometimes without us even recognizing it.
Illustration: A young woman went to her pastor and said, "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 and I know I shouldn’t think that, but I can’t help it. I want you to help me with it." The pastor replied, "Mary, don’t worry about it. In your case it’s not a sin. It’s just a horrible mistake."
I want to share with you today a parable as for our Scripture. It is a parable that exposes the con artist Pride in all His glory.
Luke 18: 9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
I enjoy the parables don’t you? We can look at them today and get the same message that they did over 2000 years ago. Jesus not only was talking to the disciples of the time but to us today as well. Jesus is talking to every one of us, who at times have been conned by Pride.
Pride cons us of many things really. Frist of all I believe that the Con Artist Named Pride can,……….
I. Con us into believing we are better than everyone else.
A. I think we would all would agree that the Pharisee in our parable believed this. I look at this parable and see something more than just what we read. I think about how this Pharisee may have gotten to this point and I see it happening in our world today.
1. Pharisees during this time were much like our pastors of today. They were considered to be the ones that understood God’s Laws and would share His wisdom and guidance to His followers.
2. I don’t share this with you because I want to elevate myself above anyone or to make myself sound important. I share this with you because I want you to understand that pastors, evangelists, priests, monks, and all the Billy Grahms are not perfect so please do not place them in such categories and become an accomplice to the Con Artist Named Pride.
Illustration: Let me share a story with you that hopefully will drive my point home for you. A minister received a card with a note in it from a lady in his congregation. He said she was very complimentary about his preaching, & compared him with Billy Graham. She finished by writing, "I think you are one of the really great preachers of all time." Later that day, when he showed the note to his wife, she asked, "Who is that woman?" He replied, "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?" She replied, "One less than you think."
3. This is really how it starts. Compliments and praises are a wonderful thing to get. I have to admit, I love hearing positive things about my preaching but I also need to be reminded that it is not me that is preaching.
4. My gift, my calling is from GOD and He is the one that is using me to bless others. It is nothing about me and everything about Him. The compliments are wonderful but to put things into perspective, they are the LORD’S because He is the one doing it, not me.
5. As I think about the Pharisee in the parable, I can’t help but to believe that this is more than likely how he became such a conceded and puffed up individual. And I do pray that this never happens to me.
B. As followers of Christ we are called to humble ourselves under God and not to exalt ourselves above any one for that matter.
1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
1. We are told that it is God that is to lift us up in due time. But I think maybe as humans we are just too impatient to wait for Him to lift us up and we seek praise from others instead of God.
2. Why do we seek approval and praise from other people? Sure it feels good and I do believe if you have the right spirit praise can and is a blessing to build one another up.
3. Scripture teaches us that were are to build one another up but that we are to build each other up for the sole purpose of glorification to God not us.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
4. I believe that this ultimately leads us into yet another con by the Con Artist Named Pride. Pride can even,…..
II. Con us into believing we don’t need God.
A. Will get to a point filled with pride so much; that we sub- consciously or even for some people consciously believe that we are simply more important than God.
1. First of all let me share with how God feels about this Con Artist.
2. God has some very explicit things to say about pride that we need to pay close attention to. Let’s take a look at Proverbs 6:16-19. Listed here are six things that the LORD hates and seven that are detestable to him.
- haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
3. The writer of Proverbs puts pride ahead of murder. It’s not that murder is less severe it’s just than on God’s top ten list of things that he hates, pride is number one.
- Proverbs 8:13 says, To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
4. So, God hates the sin of pride. He calls it evil. He does not hate the prideful person but he hates the pride in the person. That’s important for us to understand. Why is it that God feels so strongly about pride?
5. Because what The Con Artist Named Pride promotes is self-sufficiency rather than God-sufficiency. Attitudes like, “I can do it myself, I do not need anyone else” is common with prideful people.
6. Another attitude is I want it my way. Our culture screams this at us all the time. Unfortunately, our self-centered society influences us more than we think.
7. In our prideful world today we see that it is all about me rather than God. The focus of that which is important has become almost non-existent and what really EARKS me is that we see this even in our churches that claim God is number one but their actions tell a different story.
8. Churches that focus more on their building and comfortibility rather than the individual soul and missions. Churches that are run by man rather than by God. Churches that cater to sinful lifestyles rather than share the truth of God and hold one another accountable.
9. These are some serious issues that Pride has conned many people into believing is okay.
10. Have we possibly been conned into thinking that we are more important than God? Do we read the Scriptures and only accept the ones that fit us and our comfortibility because we feel that how we feel and what we do is more important than God Himself?
Conclusion: The Con Artist Named Pride has the capability of destroying our lives. Pride is a dangerous criminal that really is a ticking time-bomb.
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Pride, if not revealed to us will tear not only tear apart our live but will either separate us from God’s grace but will also keep us from coming to Him in the first place.
I really believe that pride is one of the biggest factors that keep people from giving their lives to him. It’s pride that says, “I don’t need God, I can make it on my own.”
God will do anything to break pride in us. Look back at our Scripture reading this morning at
verse 14.“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
God exalts the humble, but he brings low the proud. It’s not that God wants to make a spectacle out of the prideful person he just wants them to see how it’s supposed to be.
