TRAPS
“Watch your Step!”
Psalm 59:12, Isaiah 14:12-14 and 2 Corinthians 7:4
For the past 12 weeks we have looked at a variety of traps that Satan places in our path. As we have seen, these traps come in different sizes, large and small. And I have this suspicion – that of all the traps we looked at there were some of you who thought-that particular trap; that particular temptation is not something I deal with but that one is. Satan has a way of personalizing these traps.
Last week we looked at the trap of bitterness-the week before we looked at some of the traps we as men fall into, before that we looked at pornography; well we didn’t exactly look at it-but at any rate some of these don’t struggle with so much, others are huge and they are a daily temptation.
Today’s trap is best summed up in a couple of verses in the Bible (1) is found in Psalm 59:12 (RSV) for the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips; let them be trapped in their pride. Proverbs 16:18. Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall. And the picture that places in my mind is a picture of someone casually walking along so completely absorbed in themselves and they are about to fall into a huge trap that they never saw coming.
For me that is a picture of where America is today. Traveling down McMullen Booth recently I spotted a sign outside a church that immediately caught my attention. The sign read, “America is the only country in the world that was created for a good purpose.” It was near Memorial Day and I realize this church was trying to be patriotic but I also realized a couple of things about it—that statement is full of pride and it is simply not true.
The Bible tells us that God created the earth and that it was good and everything in it was good. As Americans we often fall into this trap of thinking that we are the only country in the world that God is blessing and that we are the only ones that are doing anything right. My wife, my entire family are very patriotic-we love this country. Our oldest son, David is serving in a special ops team right now in Afghanistan.
While I don’t like the area where he is serving because I know it is dangerous, I do believe that Afghanistan was created for a good purpose. I also believe that Iraq with all of its problems was created for a good purpose as well. Iraq, as evil as that country has become; that area is referred to as the place where mankind got our beginning. We believe that it was the birthplace of Adam and Eve…the garden of Eden so it would be hard to say that Iraq was not created for a good purpose—they are simply not fulfilling God’s purpose.
There are many countries around the world that have fallen and I believe in most cases it is due to power struggles that take place and just plain old pride. Solomon said pride comes before a fall and I believe that is exactly what is happening in the United States.
Now first of all we should be aware that pride can be a very good thing. If we take pride in our families, if we take pride in our country, if we take pride in our work, it means that we pour more of ourselves into these areas. It usually means we have worked hard and that we have invested time and energy in something and that we are pleased with the results-we are proud of them. Paul expresses this in speaking to the church in Corinth. “I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die for you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged.” 2 Cor. 7: 4.
So Paul took pride in those who were in the churches he helped start and in the people because of their spiritual growth. Paul made an investment in these people and he was proud of the results.
Look at another one, Philippians 1:26… “and when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.” So now Paul has told us two things. (1) it can be good to have pride in another person’s spiritual growth. (2) it is good to have pride in Jesus and what He does in the lives of His people. And if you are a part of that be proud.
Now we also should be aware that pride can be a very sinful thing. So what’s the difference? Many times it is all wrapped up in the little word “I.” It is a good thing to be proud of how God is working in someone’s else’s life, it is good to be proud of how Christ is making a difference in someone’s life-but we get into a problem when there is too much emphasis placed on self.
In the gospel of Luke 10:18 Jesus says I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Now what is it that causes us to fall? Pride. Good answer! You should be proud! We believe that the reason for Satan’s fall is found in Isaiah 14:12-14.
Satan had an “I” problem. There is debate as to whether this passage is referring to the King of Babylon. I believe it refers to Satan. However whether it is Satan or the King we can be clear about this…… pride, when used in a sinful way can be very destructive. Revelation tells us that when Satan/Lucifer fell from heaven that he took 1/3 of the angels with him.
So the key here in this passage is where we place our focus. Clearly it is an issue of the heart. When our focus falls completely on us, when we promote ourselves constantly we run the risk of falling into this trap. The Bible says it is a sin and that every one of us can fall into this trap if we are not careful where we walk.
Listen again to what Paul says in 2 Cor. 5: in what is seen rather than what is in the heart. It is the difference between what people see on the outside and what is actually going on in the inside. I don’t know about you but I’m not really impressed when someone is constantly telling me how wonderful they are. In fact, I’m turned off by it. You see pride is a very dangerous trap and like any trap there are consequences when we fall in. Again in Isaiah we see in verse 15 that ….
(1) Pride leads to destruction/death. V. 15. It is possible to become so full of pride and self that we can actually die spiritually. How does this happen? It happens when our focus falls completely on ourselves. Jesus knew this of course and when He came to these men who would become his disciples that is why Jesus said, “if anyone is going to come after me and follow me he must put pride out of the way. He must deny self.” Clearly Jesus demands this because He knew that pride can lead to death.
(2) Consequence. Pride will result in ridicule from other people. V. 16. They wonder with all of that pride in his life, what’s going to happen to him? You see as much as we might like to think so other people really don’t want to hear us talk constantly about how great we are and how much we have accomplished. The may act impressed on the outside to be kind but on the inside they can’t wait until you stop bragging. Then they will ridicule you for what you have said.
(3) Consequence. Pride destroys people and the countries they live in. In this passage 2 things are destroyed (1) land and (2) people. And this is what I believe is happening in America today. America has a right to be proud of many things but America has placed her pride in the wrong things. We should be proud to be an American but we should be careful of the things that we are proud of and the things we place our trust in.
We put “in God we trust” on our money but we keep it all for ourselves. We give very little back to the one who has provided for us.
We want to live life to the fullest…we celebrate life yet we perform 1.2 million abortions each year in the U.S. That is 173 during this worship service today.
While 83% of Americans claim to be Christian, only 35% of Americans believe the Bible is totally accurate.
For America to remain great we must return to God, we can no longer just talk the talk, we must walk the walk. Alexander the Great conquered an area covering about 3000 miles. As great as many considered him to be, he had a ferocious temper, he would murder his closest friends if they got in his way. He killed thousands for no reason at all. Yet it was said of him that he could conquer many nations but he could not conquer himself. That is where we are as a nation today. We have power, we have religion and we have wealth but we have nothing because we are so full of pride that we believe that we got her by ourselves. Without God America is nothing. With Him we have the potential to be truly great.
To regain our greatness we must (1) put our faith in Jesus Christ (2) pray daily for our country and our leaders (3) live out that faith through our actions. (4) always stand for what it right even when it’s unpopular.
Today give your life to Christ, get in a local church. Make sure your life counts for God.
