WE ALL GOT ONE – IS YOURS TOO BIG?
Romans 12:3
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
INTRODUCTION: What part of you is interested in you? Answer: Your Ego! Now out egos are important. We need to have some ego in order to have a measure of concern regarding our success, our appearance, and our feelings of self. Yet, as a result of sin in the world, our egos need a control mechanism, something to keep them in check. According to Scripture the “ego control mechanism” is the Word of God – the Bible.
Uncontrolled egos have a way of slipping out in our speech. This morning, I would like to look at 3 “slips of the tongue” regarding our ego.
I BOASTING – The popular social sport!
THE DANGER WITH BOASTING IS THAT IT CAN NEGATE THE VERY PURPOSE OF REDEMPTION – To Give Glory To God
A In Reality Boasting Inflates Nothing
Philip. 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
1 Vain conceit – means “empty glory”
2 Our Reality Apart From Christ
a We are no good
Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
b We can do nothing
John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
B Boasting is Little More Than A Duck Flying Upside Down – He “quacks up”
James 4:13-16 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
1 The word brag means “a wandering quack”
2 We do not possess the ultimate control of our circumstances
3 To assume that control reduces God from the administrator of our lives to little more than a sidekick.
C Boasting Undermines God’s Glory – Exercising care in what we take credit for
1 We are to point to God
1 Cor. 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
2 Taking God’s glory brings SEVERE consequences
Psalm 106:33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
Exodus 17:5-7 The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
Numbers 20:2-11 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! 4Why did you bring the LORD’S community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" 6Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7The LORD said to Moses, 8"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
9So Moses took the staff from the LORD’S presence, just as he commanded him. 10He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" 11Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
a Moses was not permitted to enter the promised land
Acts 12:21-24 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24But the word of God continued to increase and spread.
b Herod became “worm food”
THE KEY TO CONQUERING BOASTING IS TO REMEMBER WHAT WE WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT GOD.
II FLATTERY – The Accelerator of our Standing
A Why We Flatter
1 We flatter to get ATTENTION – I notice you, then you will notice me
2 We flatter to COERCE – Soften you up for something
I went into a Radio Shack one day and happened to stop for a moment and played a quick tune on one of their keyboards. In fact it was the exact same keyboard that I now own. At the time I was looking to purchase the keyboard. The moment I finished, one of the salesmen came over and told me that, “that was the best I had ever heard that keyboard played.” I don’t know whether he knew it, but I knew it – that when you listen to my playing, you quickly realize that there are LOTS of others who play better than me!
3 We flatter to GAIN FAVOR – A Shortcut to earning it!
B The Dark Side of Flattery
1 Flattery is a smooth operation
Psalm 5:9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.
Psalm 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
a Subtle deceit
b The word flatter means to make their tongue smooth
2 Flattery provides and avenue for pride
Proverbs 29:5 Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.
a Flattery provides an opportunity for stumbling.
b Flattery places an opportunity for sin in front of someone else.
THE KEY TO CONQUERING FLATTERY IS TO CHECK MY MOTIVATION – LOVE OR PERSONAL GAIN
III EXAGGERATION – The Exponential Inflator
A Exaggeration at its root is lying
1 Grab attention
2 Manipulate others
a Exaggeration is often combined with anger
b “knock your block off”
c King Nebuchadnezzer
1) Often there is collateral damage we NEVER intended!
Daniel 3:19-22 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
3 To be seen in a better light
a How big was the fish?
b How much do you earn?
c How many shares do you have?
B Exaggeration erodes our trust and credibility – All that has to happen is that you get found out
THE KEY TO AVOIDING EXAGGERATION IS TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO PLEASE.
Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
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