Pride, the Root of Sin

The title is Pride, and then I just put a comma. The Root of Sin. Pride, the Root of Sin. R-O-O-T. Speaking of roots, by the way, thank you to Stephen Woods, Mike Haines, Mike and Sherry's nephew, whoever was involved in giving some of those damaged trees a bit of a haircut. We appreciate that. That's very helpful, because they looked a bit dangerous, didn't they? So, pride, the root of sin. I have an example I want to use at the beginning that I will give credit to Robert Barrant, up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was on the Council of Elders for a number of years, but he goes way, way back.

He had a class at the General Conference of Elders one year on this topic of pride, and I want to use his introductory story. But then also, I found some notes on my computer of a sermon on this topic that John Lebissonnier gave up in the Knoxville and Kingsport areas years ago, when we worked together up that way, and I got some good ideas from him. I brought with me a copy.

This is the the story of the Christian Church by Jesse Lyman Hurlebut, H-U-R-L-B-U-T. So Hurlebut's church history you might refer to, and he, in part, he's got a section where he is discussing this struggle that was ongoing through much of the Dark Ages, this ongoing struggle between the Roman Empire and the Papacy. Oftentimes, you would have struggles between whoever was the Holy Roman Emperor and whoever was Pope. There were times when the Emperor would banish the Pope away from Rome.

There were times when the Pope would excommunicate the Emperor. So there was this love-hate relationship that has existed through the decades. But I did, I have a part here, I've got it in my notes, but from page 111, he is discussing a specific struggle that took place between King Henry IV of Germany. He was King of Germany, but he was also a Holy Roman Emperor. And the Pope, who was Gregory VII, more commonly known in history by his actual real name of Hildebrand. But a controversy between them, there was a lot of abuse within the priesthood as far as selling positions, selling all kinds of things, selling forgiveness. And this Gregory took certain actions that brought him into confrontation with the Pope at that time.

So, page 111, the Emperor Henry IV, having taken offense at Pope Gregory, that's Gregory VII, summoned a synod of German bishops and induced or compelled them to vote the deposition of the Pope. So, he called together the church leaders up in Germany and they voted the Pope out. Well, Gregory retaliated with an ex-communication of Henry IV, but absolving or giving a pardon to all of the subjects of Henry IV for their allegiance to him. So, Henry found himself absolutely powerless under this papal ban in January 1077.

So, like I say, middle ages. January 1077, the Emperor having laid aside all belongings of royalty with bare feet and clad in wool, continued for three days to stand before the gate of the castle at Canosa in northern Italy, which is where the Pope lived at that time, in order to make his submission and receive absolution.

So, the Emperor traveled in January across the Alps down to northern Italy, and yet, you can do a search for this, like on Wikipedia, you look up the Walk to Canosa. Canosa is C-A-N-O-S-S-A. And it will tell of Henry IV with some of his family and his entourage going through the trip down to Canosa, and he arrived, and the Pope would not allow him admission.

In three days, he stood outside in the snow, barefooted in just this heavy woolen garment. Well, as Mr. Barrent told the story, that each day there would be a knock on the the door that's built into the gate into the castle. And the call from inside would be to, you know, who is there? They wanted the identity of who was there. And the first day, Henry's response was Henry IV, King of Germany, and Holy Roman Emperor.

And admission was denied. He waited another day in the snow, and the next day knocked on the door, and the request for identification was made. And it was a somewhat toned-down response, but it was still focusing on, I'm a pretty important guy. And the story goes on that on day three, with the knock on the door, his response was a sinner seeking God's forgiveness.

He was admitted. He humbled himself before the Pope. The excommunication was reversed. He was back in power. Of course, the rest of the story is, if you read the history, in short order, Henry IV as Emperor waged war on the Pope, and this time he won. And the Pope was banished and lived out the rest of his life, somewhere far away from where he had ruled before. A sinner seeking God's forgiveness. We approach the spring feast season of 2017, and this is a time of the year that focuses our attention on ourselves.

There are scriptures, like in 1 Corinthians 11, let a man examine himself and then take of the bread and the wine. There are scriptures, such as Paul wrote also to Corinth in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5, where he spoke of the need to examine ourselves and to see whether we're in the faith. Now, this is a 365-day-a-year process a Christian is to be in, but we do tend to focus on it a bit more, since the Scriptural Command is, examine yourselves, then come, take of the bread and the wine.

And so we're in that season of the year. And before we memorialize and remember Christ's sacrifice and the need that we have for payment for our own sins, we need to go through the process. You know, right now we are in the weeks of D11ing. I say weeks, we all do it differently. We realize on April 3rd we're getting on a plane and we're getting out of here, so we can't wait till the last minute. We have some family company coming and we realize, well, they're going to walk through our house eating food, so we're going to have to do some more cleanup after we have family that come.

But at any rate, it's a matter that we are in the D11ing. We go, we find the yeast, the baking powder, the products that have it in, the enriched flowers, and things like that. And we are D11ing. We are putting 11 out, and that speaks of the process of removing sin, certainly with the help and the strength and the guidance of God.

Then, once unleavened bread starts, we have seven days. We're to have no leaven. We are to be living in an unleavened life, and that speaks of the next phase of the fact that the sin that was removed needs to be replaced by following in the steps of Christ and allowing God to work in us so that holy, righteous, godly character is formed within us. And certainly, the Father and the Son are willing and ready and able to assist us in that journey, however we can.

But as we look in the mirror, I've looked in the mirror. I'm speaking metaphorically there. I've looked in the mirror the last couple of weeks, and like last year and the year before and 20 years ago, I don't like everything I see when I look in that mirror. And I think we all share that in common. We realize we have work to do. We have made mistakes.

We have hurt people. We have walked down the path of pride instead of humility too many times. And perhaps the most foundational question that we can ask with respect to the question of sin, it's just simply the word, why. Why do I sin? And that ties us back to the title, pride, the root of sin. The short answer is that we are, we've sinned because we are more focused on self than we are on what God tells us. We focus on self to the exclusion of the things of God. That is bred into us. We have this innate tendency to defend who and what we are and how we see things and inflate ourselves.

Let's look at James chapter 1. James 1 verses 14 and 15. James writes about the process that leads to sin and actually to eternally to death. James 1 verse 14. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. So it begins with the temptation. The temptation is not sin yet. You know, it does say as far as of Jesus Christ that he was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin.

But it starts with a temptation and then as it progresses we can be drawn away from what we may know is right by his own desires. There's the I, me, and my coming in there. What I want is more important than what God may want me to do. And enticed then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown brings forth death. And that's looking to the very end of the process.

We are drawn away from what is important to God by our own self will. Call it pride. That's what it is. We want what we want more than we want what God wants.

In discussing the topic of pride it's good to define the word. So I went to dictionary.com. Just entered the word pride and many of the definitions have a direct application to this question of sin. Some of the definitions I left out because they focused in other directions. But here the definitions of pride that were offered. First of all, and you won't have time to write down all of these. You can go to probably any dictionary and you're going to find definitions in the same ballpark. But first of all it is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority.

And it says, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing and conduct. All right, the second definition. The state or feeling of being proud.

The state or feeling of being proud. Number three. A becoming or dignified sense of what is due to one's self or one's position or character. Self-respect, self-esteem. Number four. Pleasure or satisfaction taking in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon one's self. So just reading those first four definitions that are offered. We see that there's a lot of focus on me. A lot of I, as I use the phrase, the person has an eye problem, but we can't cast stones because we're all there.

One's own. Proud. What is due to one's self? One's position. Reflect credit upon one's self. Pride is self-centered, self-absorbed, and selfish in every way.

There are a couple of very familiar scriptures. I think on this topic we have to go back. Let's go to Ezekiel 28 because we continually must ask the question, where did pride start? How was pride conceived? How did sin enter the universe?

Ezekiel 28, as you know, the early verses speak to the Prince of Tyre. That was probably the human leader at that time, but then it shifts beginning in verse 11 to a lamentation for the king of Tyre. The wording of what follows tells us this is not spoken to just some human being. This is a great spirit being. There is enough that tells us he, once upon a time, was a covering carob. He walked among the stones of fire at the very throne of God.

We have enough here and in Isaiah and in Revelation to realize this is the one we today call Satan the Devil. He is the adversary. But let's just notice in verse 17, the verses above have pointed out that he was a created being. The end of verse 15, till iniquity was found in you. So somewhere at a point sin entered the universe through this being.

But verse 17, your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. It kind of shifts back in part to the the human type that is being represented. But in verse 16 in the middle it says, you became filled with violence within and you sinned.

So here's where it started. Satan is the first recorded example of one who turned and walked down the path of pride, of being lifted up, of being puffed up. Now let's also look at Isaiah 14 verses 13 and 14. Very familiar scripture as well. But again, it lays the foundation. We are told in the Word of God that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. And we have the words of this same being.

We're able to look and see what was in his heart. And he certainly had an eye problem. Isaiah 14 verse 13, For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. Count the There's one. Secondly, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. And of course, stars like in Revelation 1 verse 20 are used to represent angels. Number three, I will sit also on the Mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. Verse 14, the fourth one, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

And the final one, number five, I will be like the Most High. We have an individual, and I think the bottom line, especially that last phrase, is that he wanted God's job. He had too much talent to live in submission and to humbly walk with his God. He wanted to overthrow God, but at any rate, we see this would appear to be further down the line, at least it does to me, from Ezekiel 28. But at any rate, we realize where it ended.

There was rebellion. There was war in heaven historically. The universe, as we look out at it today, was probably destroyed from that battle that was waged. Let's go to Psalm 73 and read verse 6. Psalm 73 and read verse 6.

It is interesting. We'll look at quite a few scriptures here for a while. A lot of places, like the Psalms, but especially Proverbs, gives us insight into pride. And here it likens pride as to being in this chain about our neck. 73 verse 6, therefore pride serves as their necklace. I think the Old King James says it's as a chain. The Jewish Tanakh translates that, therefore pride is as a chain about their neck.

Violence covers them like a garment. Interesting. So often, pride and violence hinge together. They go hand in hand. And that's from individuals with relationship problems, and that's all the way to nations or alliances of nations. Sometimes there are affronts to where that you'll have a loose cannon as a leader who turns down the path of war, and a lot of people pay for that decision. But pride is, it's insidious. Kind of like leaven.

You know, we've often times, as we come to unleavened bread or during unleavened bread, we may look at leaven. And I've used the example of making pancakes. My pancakes have been eaten all over. They are nationally known. Our kids have eaten them in California, and Oklahoma, and Texas, and Tennessee, and in Alabama. That's how they're nationally known. But I used to just know I haven't had pancakes in a long time, but anyhow, I used to have them when we had kids at home quite often. And you take your milk, and you take your flour, and you take a certain amount, but a very small amount, in comparison of the baking powder.

And of course, your egg, maybe some other things you put in there. And as Paul wrote, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. It just takes a little, and it starts that process, that chemical reaction, and you know, as it bubbles and the carbon dioxide comes off, vanity, pride, arrogance works the same way. It's hard to see it. It's especially hard to see it happening within us. It's hard to look in the mirror at that person back behind those eyeballs and see how much it happens to us.

But pride is the core. It is the root cause of all sin. Pride hinders us from surrendering unconditionally to God because we're focusing on self more than we are on God. Pride restrains us, restricts us from being able to surrender to God. It resists, as the proverb tells us, acknowledge God in all your ways, and He'll lift you up in essence. It fights against that, and so that's why I say it's the underlying cause.

It is the root, it is the core of sin. Let's go to Proverbs 21 now. Notice a few verses in the Proverbs. Proverbs 21, verse 4. A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin.

Let's go to Proverbs 28 and read verse 25. 28 verse 25.

Verse 25. He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered. That's interesting to look at that. When you find strife, when you find strife among brethren, generally, if we look deeply enough, we find there's a lot of pride.

There's a lot of pride that prohibits us from just humbly submitting one to another in the fear of God, and just getting along and being together and being a body as Christ wants us to. But we have a lot of separation, a lot of splintering that has taken place, and I don't know any human being who knows how to fix it. It's in the hands of Christ, the head of the church. But I hope we will always be among those who will be quick to extend the right hand to fellowship and welcome a brother or sister, because it's what Christ would have us do.

But again, pride and strife. Those two tend to be hinged together. And as we examine ourselves, maybe we should ask, am I? Is it possible that I am a source of some of this strife? This pride is the pride coming from me that's causing a division? Or do I trust God completely? Pride blinds us to the motives and attitude of our own heart. Pride blinds us to being able to see others' motives and attitudes as well.

Now let's look at the little book of Jude. Jude, and we'll read verse 11. Because Jude, you got an awful lot in this little one chapter book of 25 verses. He's got a lot in there. But he speaks about the reality of the angels that sinned, the evil spirits, along with human beings who are trying to pull them away from the truth. That's why he tells them to earnestly contend for the faith. But then a little later, let's just notice verse 11, he uses, he refers to three examples. We don't need to turn back to their stories, but I'll give you the chapters or the verses where you can look at that story.

But he uses these three as an example. Verse 11, Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain. Let's pause right there. We're very familiar with Cain's story. You can go back to Genesis 4. Somewhere there, through about verses 6 through 13, you have the crux of his story. And obviously, there was instruction from God on how to come and offer an offering. Because Abel's was, he gave of the flock, and it was accepted. Cain apparently did as he could and well pleased, and took, he was a farmer, he took of the produce.

And God did not honor his. And God even went and talked to him. And God warned him, if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. Man, we know where the story ended up. He murdered his brother. I'm sure he justified that in his own mind somehow. But then as God is levying a punishment on him, and he's going to be cast forth out to the east, what did he say?

He said, He's saying, I'm getting a raw deal. I don't deserve this. So the way of Cain, Cain is one who is dripping with, I will do as I good and well please. That type of attitude. Well then Jude goes on, he says, Now you can make a note of the story of Balaam. Most of the story is told in Numbers, chapters 22 through 24. And you can go back and reread that as I did over a week ago.

You had a situation where you started with Baloch, king of Moab, and of course the Midianites were involved in that as the neighbors as well. And Baloch was very deeply concerned because of the numbers of the Israelites and wherever they went, everything was consumed. And so he sent emissaries all the way over to Balaam. It says he lived over by the river to the east, over by the river, which is understood to be the Euphrates.

Now why he was way over there, we aren't told, and it doesn't matter. But the emissaries went and essentially told him, well Baloch wants you to come and he wants you to pronounce a curse on Israel. And Balaam, it sounded good. He said, well I can only I can only pronounce what God tells me to pronounce. And so the men went back to Baloch and Baloch found some more impressive, higher authority emissaries to send all that way to Balaam. And same thing. And he said, no, I can only speak what God tells me. Well, as the story unfolds, God says, not go with him.

And so he gets there and he's with Baloch, and he wants Balaam to curse Israel. And Balaam tells him what God says, and then Balaam says, you have pronounced a blessing on my enemy. But the story kind of abruptly ends, and then chapter 25 is the story of the Moabite women. And then it mentions a particular Midianite woman.

They came and the Israelites got caught up with the Hordim's of those peoples. And I think it says, it uses the polite phrase of being joined to Baal-Pior. And that's where Phineas, you know, the one took the Midianite woman into the tent, and Phineas went with the javelin and ran both of them through, and the plague was stopped. Josephus tells the story, and it's just Josephus. You know, once in a while I hear somebody quote Josephus like they're quoting Scripture. It's a pretty good history, but there's a lot of what he wrote down that, you know, I'd like to trace the clues back and verify, but it is interesting that he said that Balaam, after, you know, pronouncing the blessing, he then is the one who explained to Balak, here is how you can get to the Israelites.

And so that's when the women were sent, and chapter 25 took place. Of course, later on there was a war, a punitive war, as God told them to go back against some of those peoples, and and it mentions some of the chief kings who were killed, and Balaam. So he was killed in that as well. So apparently, in the wording of Jude, is the error of Balaam for profit. And the only conclusion we can come to from adding this thought is that he sold his... he taught them how to get to Israel, and he took payment for that. But again, a lot of details aren't given to us.

One more. And perished in the rebellion of Korah. Now we remember Korah. The story is told in number 16. Number 16. Again, I won't take the time to go back there, but here you have Korah, who actually was of the tribe of Levi.

You had others who were Reubenites, but they had 250 leaders, and it says, men of renown. You know, sometimes people think, just go at them with numbers, and we've got to be right. Oh no. Oh no. You know, we've seen that in the body of Christ across the decades. Too many times, people start going down the wrong path, the path of pride. And like Korah, Nathan, and Abram, they believe, well, I've got to lead a group, and I'm gonna take my toys, and I'm gonna go somewhere else.

They told Moses and Aaron that, you know, you take too much on yourselves. Has not God spoken through us as well? And we have that same attitude that comes through every so often. A number of years ago, I remember Mr. Holiday wrote a lengthy article about this idea of the priesthood of all believers. You know, taking to task the statements the Bible has that God sets some in offices of service within the church. And so, anyhow, we have that story. Why, they said, why do you exalt yourself above the assembly?

Which reading between the lines they were saying, we want to be in charge? Yeah. What about me, coach? I want to be, I want to run things around here. Well, let's go back to Proverbs. Proverbs 8, we'll read verse 13. Proverbs 8, verse 13. And we read, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. There are places where God lists certain things he hates. Chapter 6 has these six things in that yea, seven, are an abomination. Malachai says, I hate divorce. But here, one of the things that he hates is pride, arrogance, the evil way, the perverse mouth. Chapter 13, Proverbs 13, verse 10. Verse 10, By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well advised is wisdom. Hopefully, we're among those who receive the advice and with it the wisdom from God and live life accordingly.

But by pride, you find pride, then you're going to have strife between brethren. Chapter 16, Proverbs 16, reading verse 5.

Verse 5, Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. So again, the proud in heart is an abomination to God. Pride, the tendency to promote self at all costs is a natural part of who we are.

The tendency to promote self first is the enemy of every one of us. We want what we want.

I appreciate the fact that we have so much of the New Testament that was written by the Apostle Paul.

Paul really got it. Paul understood. You've got those passages. It'd be Romans 7.

I'm not going to turn there, but Romans 7, about verse 14 through, I think the last verse is 25.

And in those verses, he talks about this battle that I have inside of me. The good that I will to do, I don't do. The evil that I don't want to do, I turn around and I've done it again.

And then he talks about this battle, this war that's being waged inside of him. And to me, it's the battle of pride versus humility. And we all have that, but he's talked about this war being waged within him. And of course, he ends by saying, thank God, we can have the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. But we all have that same struggle, that same battle. And it's interesting that sometimes in warfare, if you look back across the last couple hundred years, there have been times when our mists has been proclaimed. Sometimes it holds, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it turns out that one side or both just wanted to get their ducks in a row and get prepared for even greater battle. But the battle we have within ourselves and the battle that we have with Satan the Devil never goes away. He is not going to take, he's not going to stop for so-called peace talks.

And we can't afford to ever let down our guard because pride is always focusing on what is best for me, what I want. Pride is all about what I want. Let's go to the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, and we'll read verses 3 and 4. 1 Corinthians 13, reading verses 3 and 4.

And in this chapter, when he uses the word love, or if you have the old King James charity, it comes from the Greek agape, which speaks of the love of God, away from self and toward others. Verse 3, And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. And here he is addressing the inward motivation for good works or for suffering. If the motivation is self, it's worth nothing. Verse 4, Love suffers long and is kind, does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up.

We'll pause from reading there, or we'll break. You can read the rest of the chapters, very familiar to us, but pride must be gone in order for us to see ourselves the way God sees us.

And it calls for us to continually scrutinize our own thoughts, our thought processes, the words that come out, the actions that we perform. We have to scrutinize ourselves, examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith. It is a 365-day job every year, and if the motive is not of the agape love of God, then it's root as pride. It's root as in pride.

But God is building a family for eternity. He's seeking to produce, reproduce his own character within the saints, and they want us to focus and to think through and to understand why we do what we do, why we think the way we think, and with their help to make certain changes.

Defeating the enemy is something we will never do on our own strength.

That's where Zechariah wrote so long ago, Zechariah 4 verse 6. It's not by might nor by power. It's not by any human effort or strength, but it's by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. There is this strength that must come from God. Matthew 15, and let's read verse 8.

Matthew 15, and reading verse 8, actually hear Jesus speaking to some of the religious leaders of that time. He quotes from back in Isaiah, These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And so the question to us is, where's my heart?

Where is my heart? The ability to recognize pride at its root in our thinking must be a gift from God. We don't naturally see it in ourselves. Sometimes it takes years to grow in a certain, you know, to grow in our Christian calling. And we reach those places where it's like we break out and we can see something we could not see for 30 years. And that's why it's a journey. It's a process until the last breath goes out of us. 1 John 2. 1 John 2, and we'll read verses 15 through 17. 1 John 2 verse 15, Do not love the world or the things in the world. He's talking here about the cosmos, the society, the people. This is Satan's world. He's still the God of this age. And we love people. And we can enjoy and appreciate a lot of things that are out here in the world, but these can't be the driving motivation for our life.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And we can't have it both ways.

But notice here, verse 16, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world is passing away, and the lust thereof. But he who does the will of God abides forever. Those phrases in verse 16 are interesting. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. You know, we have a story told back in Genesis where the serpent, of course, Revelation tells us, Satan is that serpent of old. He went to Eve, and he tempted her in these same ways. He tempted her with, you know, God said, you can't have that fruit. Look how wonderful it appears. And he promised he appealed to her pride. It will give you knowledge you don't have. It will give you the power to determine for yourself what is right and what is wrong.

We have a story told in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 as far as the temptations of Jesus Christ before he began his ministry. And in each place, each temptation, after Jesus had 40 days and 40 nights of fasting, if you be the Son of God, there's that word, if, in each of the temptations, command these stones be made bread. Each time Christ answered by quoting Scripture, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

He tempted him with choosing the physical. He tempted Christ with choosing the power.

I'll give you all these kingdoms if you will worship me.

So Satan has the same tactics. And of course, Paul wrote and said, we're not to be ignorant of his devices. He works the same way that he did in the beginning with Adam and Eve and that he did with the second Adam, Jesus Christ. And he will test us every day to see if he can appeal to our pride.

And when pride comes forth, it's not of God. It's from the tempter. The pride of life, as that phrase was used, is the human desire to be in charge that I will do what I want to do and no one will tell me what to do. I want to give you some questions that you can make note of, just things to look for that may indicate pride.

And of course, we're told to examine ourselves, not anybody else, not even our spouse, much as we might like to. No. Number one, am I self-focused? Whatever it is that comes along, is there strife? Is there friction? Maybe we had to look in that mirror and ask, is it me wanting my way at all costs? And that's, I use the term self, am I self-focused? Focused on what I want as opposed to what God tells me I ought to do.

Number two, does everything revolve around and rely upon me?

Does everything revolve around and rely upon me? And no one is immune from this. King Saul, back in ancient Israel, he got caught up in that bandwagon. They waited day after day for Samuel, and he finally, he was of the tribe of Benjamin, though. He had no right as a Levite to lead the offering of an offering. He got caught up with that. None of us is immune from it today. We have members of the Council of Elders. We have administration officials. We have regional pastors and senior pastors and department heads. We have pastors, elders, deacons, deaconesses. We have people who lead songs and give sermonettes and sermons and Bible studies.

And we're the ones Satan would want to get, because you get there. And he has had a lot of success.

It's been months ago, down in Birmingham, Larry Pritchett in the sermon had asked the question.

He said, how many can you list who once were pastors in God's church?

Who then, for whatever reason, were no longer pastoring, and they just went and had a seat.

They sat down in the congregation, and they passed out hymnals, and they moved chairs.

I know some, but I'm sorry that it's a very short list.

I have a long list of men that I've known, that I think as I assess it in my mind, and I want it to be a caution to me. None of us is immune from pride. But I look at that long list, and I realize, you know, they reached a point where they felt it all revolves around me. I have to do something. Six, seven years ago with what happened, I had a lot of my dearest friends that go back to Ambassador College, and I watch them walk on another path.

And there was no reason for that. As we all know, not one doctrine has even been discussed as far as being changed. It was about power. It wasn't about doctrine.

Well, number three. Number three, am I self-promoting? Am I self-promoting?

We see that in the world around us. Politics just drips with that. I listened to part of our President's speech to CPAC this week, and I might like some of the things he says, but, you know, I don't think of the word humble when I listen to him. Now, if anyone does think of the word humble, I'd like to hear your explanation, but it's not just him, the guy before him, and all of them who ran for office and didn't make it all the way. It's at the state level. It's at local level. It's in local school politics. It's in local business politics. It's...

am I self-promoting? That's the way the world works. Be out there. Network. Promote yourself.

Don't be afraid to climb over people to get where you want to go.

Well, you've got to help us to keep that out of the body of Christ.

Number four. Am I prone to put down others' ideas in favor of my own?

Am I prone to put down others' ideas in favor of my own?

Well, you can make a note of this proverb. There's Proverbs 26 verse 12.

Proverbs 26 verse 12, and I'll just read it for you.

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than him.

So do I put down others' ideas or opinions? Because I have all the answers.

No, I mean exaggerating there, but as students of human nature, we see that so many times.

Number five.

Am I willing to accept correction?

Am I willing to accept correction? You know, most of our correction hopefully comes from putting our nose in the pages of God's Word.

If we are tender, conscious, if we are of a correctable, teachable, if we're of a yielded attitude, the bulk of our correction ought to come right here.

But there are times a message will be given at church. There will be times there's an article written, and something just hits us right between the eyes.

Hopefully, hopefully it does.

Are we willing to accept correction?

Or is it something we just, we have our blinders on? We're not going to accept that. That I could be wrong.

Number six.

Number six, do I bristle at or get offended from constructive criticism?

Do I bristle, add, or get offended by constructive criticism?

Well, for that, let's look at Romans 12, verse 3.

Romans 12, verse 3. Paul hits it right on the nail, right on the head once again. Verse 3, for I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

And again, I underscore, God has to give us this ability to see ourselves the way we truly are, to see ourselves as he sees us.

And if we just have the suggestion that maybe we're approaching something wrong, that we understand something wrong, if we bristle at that, if we resist that, if we refuse to even consider that, that's not a good sign. Not a good sign. Another proverb says, pride goes before destruction. We're familiar with that one.

Passover. I love and bread. They're coming at us. They'll be here before we know it. And they are designed to lead us to focus more intently on our own life. The guy back in there behind those eyeballs. Mr. Bob Fay died somewhere in this last year or so. And we remember hearing him many years ago at the feast, and at the feast after that point, and in speaking, he would stop once in a while. Hey, you! Yeah, you back in there behind those eyeballs. And he'd talk to you directly like that. And I like to remember that example. God wants us to look at ourselves, our motives, look at our own sin, look to find the root, the core of it. There are lists of the works of the flesh. Adultery, fornication. Read through those. They're focusing on self all the way through. Self-ambition.

Alright. About three more scriptures. Let's go to Jeremiah. Let's go fast on these. Jeremiah 10, verses 23 and 24. And I think on one of the messages I listened to that was given here, this was just referred to, but we can't read it enough, I think. Jeremiah 10, verses 23 and 24. And this is where Jeremiah cried out, and we need to cry the same prayer of Jeremiah, over and over and over.

Oh Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. Oh Lord, correct me, but with justice, not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. This is the time of the year to especially focus on praying that same prayer.

And then Micah 6, verse 8. There is so much covered here in what Micah wrote. Micah 6, verse 8. And here we read, He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God? We are in a battle of pride and humility. The battle takes place between our own ears. And God tells us to walk humbly with your God. I said a while ago that I appreciate Paul's writings because he got it. He understood it. And you can just make a note of Galatians 2, verse 20, probably one of our old memory verses. Galatians 2, verse 20, where he said, I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, not me, but Christ who lives in me. And that's what we all must look for and work toward with the help of God. Pride, one thought, one word, one action at a time. Pride needs to be replaced by allowing what God wants more than what we want to live in our life.

God is, we soon begin walking through the annual plan of salvation. And we know where it ends because just three or four months ago we observed the feast with the last day. And it is as though once again we start walking down those steps. We knock on the door. Knock and you shall receive. We knock on the door, seeking entrance to the kingdom of God. And when God asks us who's there, hopefully our answer will be a sinner in need of your forgiveness.