Love Destroys Pride, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Pride and humility. How does Apollo person become love Gothic. They love God with everything they have everybody that's the solution to pride. You will never ever overcome never never be conformed to the image of you live your whole life, which God's is going out today on this additional fellowship in the world.

Pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt.

Now once again he shows us how God's word means your brothers and sisters in Christ, your neighbors, you do that you see that's a very important part. You see, when it comes to pride and humility.

The key is love. How does a proud person become humble love agape love God with everything they have and they love everybody else like they love themselves. That's the solution to pride. You will never ever overcome pride if you don't and never will. And you'll never be conformed to the image of your Savior.

While on earth you live your whole life and pride which God says he hates sin amazing thing I can still remember how shocked I was the first time I went to conferences with a lot of other pastors from around the country and really when you just sit and listen to the conversation so much of it was simply one upmanship or you have some to brag about you know what I have to brag about what I done what I can tell you what you've done nothing, same as me.

This is Jesus Christ were all susceptible to this time with me now to first Corinthians chapter 13. This is an amazing set of verses in light of what I'm talking about this morning. I'm sure most of you know this, but what was the church of cornflake. It was by a mile of the worst church in the New Testament it in any area could be wrong. It was wrong and we read the whole book. Guess what Paul is able to illustrate what was the root of all the wrongness pride they were man followers name dropper.

They were everything you could be. They even took spiritual gifts, graces from God and made them an issue up pride in Paul's like what are you doing there is nothing in our experience, or lives is important for you and for me, as the love God with everything we have above others, but we love ourselves. There's nothing more important that suppose going to tell us here in chapter 13.

He said if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I become a noisy gong or a training symbol what you mean here. Ironically, some people in our culture said he's talking about the modern-day tongues and that's Angel language that's that's not at all what Paul is doing, not at all. Paul is going to use extreme hyperboles to make something that can exist a thousand times bigger than it is but with all these without love. They all come out of the same thing. Nothing that's just the way it works. Nothing he said if I could speak like angels speak, but would that be that be a source of pride to the Corinthians is that it's noise.

It means nothing to God at all is that if I have the gift of prophecy and and I watch and I know all mysteries and all knowledge. Now let's look at that for a moment. Who knows all mysteries and all knowledge, all who God who allows no one just God. God, he said, but if I knew all the mysteries and I have all the knowledge that exist. He said that if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, is a great line by book. Remember Jesus said if you had a mustard seed of faith you could move a mountain tops to know how do I extrapolate about how I use hyperbole that okay what I get enough faith that you could remove mountains, you just looked at it. I have enough faith.

I believe that believe another is an amount I did move it. I removed it. You can see the hyperbole that he uses here. If I have all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith, but I do not have love, I am nothing, absolutely nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor by way if you give all your possessions to feed the poor, you'd be for and you have to give some to yourself.

But as I gave everything I had just to feed the poor isn't, but that's a nice benevolent nap depends what motivates you. He said if I gave all my possessions to feed the poor and if I surrender my body to be burned. If I martyred myself, but I do not have love, it profits me nothing. There's no profit in any of if I had spiritual I knew the mysteries in the knowledge and the prophecies in faith and I could in a great social but I don't have love. I'm zero guts of that's how important this is.

Without this you are nothing. That's what love is always agape, and then he starts in verse four, after he tells us the preeminence of love.

Here he talks now about the practice of love. Now this is interesting, at least to me in English it looks like he's telling you a bunch of adjectives that describe love. Love is not the adjective snarling no adjectives in Greek. It's all verbs in the Greek it's verbs. What's that mean love is not a description of love.

It's what love does it listens what love does you see it's not a description of what love is.

It's what love does and so he starts out and he gives us 15 different actions 15 actions that loved us.

He said love is patient, long tempered, for those of us who are impatient, that's a tough one to start with CME to think about this though, whenever you're impatient when we ask you this how PayPal patient is God how patient is he with you when you are impatient.

What does that say about you.

What is a come from pride that comes from your pride. I had expectations that weren't met know you need to be patient. That's important thing he said love is patient and then he says love is kind.

That's patients in action in that I was patient looked looks kind.

It's very important for us to be patient and kind.

This prison for moment as I read from Luke six, you have to come do it.

Jesus said this, he said if you do good to those who do good to you. What is that to you. Even sinners do the same. If you're good, the people who are good to use. So what Jesus said everybody's good to people that are good to them not to be a believer.

What would one credit for that which is implication what about if you do good to people who don't do good to you that mean something else no notice verse 35, love your enemies, and do good. He said in land, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most high, himself, he said, for he is himself kind to the ungrateful evil men. I love what he says there love your enemies, I thought we just love the Lord yes and will of our brothers and sisters in Christ, yes. But Jesus said love your neighbor among that whole group. Even inside or outside the church. You could have enemies. He said you have to love them. If you love your enemy. He said got a reward if you love those who love you.

So what everybody does it. See, that's the point you are love your enemies, that's what he says that's not what I hear among Christians. Christians pick out people that they don't they pick out nations. They don't either. Christians pick up parties, political parties, they don't love and they make them the enemy and show them no love whatsoever. And I'm proud of that.

I'm afraid your but I can tell you that's not of the Lord at all is just of you in your sinfulness were to love our enemies. He then goes on and he says love is not jealous. Love doesn't want what other people have.

If you know people to have things that you want. You're not loving them. That's not true that's not loving them and then he goes on, he says love does not brag.

That's pretty clear. Only time the Greek word used in New Testament why we brag so others will notice what we have, what we've done. Let me tell you what I've done is amazing to me over the years. How many Christians have told me that over and over again limited what I've done. This is probably because in Romans 12 do not think more highly of yourself than you ought do not think more highly of yourselves than you want, how should you think about yourself. What about Paul member possible.

I can take away used to get used to be prideful. He said if any man in Philippians.

He said if any man has a right to boast I have it as far as men go, we mean I'm Jewish tribe of Benjamin, the best tribe of the Pharisee. Not just any Pharisee. I'm a zealous Pharisee.

I get Dragon Dragon brag, but now in Christ. What does Paul say how does he assess himself. Here's as great words.

I am the chief of sinners Millbrae dinners are. I'm the chief of sinners see is humility.

Why does he say that he loves God with everything he has he seen God for who he is and he seen himself. He loves other people he considers all them is more important than himself. She that's the point of this chapter so he could so on, and he says that he has been he says love is not arrogant clear that word is powerful love is not arrogant if you just turn back to chapter 4 the same buyback chapter 4 verse seven. Here's what he writes. He said for who regards you as superior.

He's talking to the Corinthians is it who regard you were superior. He said why do you. He's a what you do have you, he said, what do you have that you have not received. He said if you did receive it. Why do you post as if you didn't receive it.

What are you as a Christian, what are you is anything is a result of the gift of God to you when you were born where you were born your attribute, your physical gifts your IQ, your salvation, what did you do for these nothing. So I said why do you think your superior. Why do you live with pride. God hates pride. He then goes on is that it does not act unbecomingly is not rude is not easily offended. He said doesn't do that at all. It does not seek its own when we call that selfishness.

By the way what you think is been the root of so many church splits over the last 400 years. I want this to be my way. Selfishness is what I want. Lenski said this. If you cure selfishness, he said, you've just replanted the garden of Eden, it's right there with pride is right at the root of everything receive why are we selfish because were powerful. I have expectations I want what I want what I want Sprite because not seek its own, it is right at the heart of pride. It is not seek its own, let me tell you, as brothers and sisters in Christ every time.

Through this you say my rights that's what you're doing your seeking your own. This is about me and I want to assert what I believe no place for he goes on then and he says that the is not provoked, does arouse the anger and about you, but sometimes I'm pretty even children by nature by the before became a Christian, but sometimes I get a little bit heated. You know, and I realize that when you do what's motivating that why my heated in a situation like that and somehow something has been an offense or an affront to me as though anyone interested me. You see, we have to be so careful, that is not provoked, it doesn't do that. That's not love does not take into account a wrong suffered, what's that mean he forgives. If you want to forgive her. You're not a lover.

See you not that's a very important factor for us.

It doesn't take into account that's a tough haven to think about it is not like same love forgives.

I take in account I buried it be done but I'm gonna bring it up and remember it. He said no. Love doesn't take into account so I can keep it. I can put on my emotional or spiritual ledger. I can have a spreadsheet of everybody was wrong. Me, that's not love is that it does not rejoice. He's in unrighteousness, but rejoices he said with the truth. Moffat writes this, he said love is never glad when others go wrong. Never been happy to hear bad news about somebody gives a little love doesn't do that. The apostle Paul. I remember in the book of acts is talking to the Ephesian elders any he's hugging him and kissing him and he says to them.

I admonished you with tears. Paul had the courage to point at their center need to hold him accountable for these I did with tears. He didn't do like, don't you know I am apostle. I'm telling you you're wrong.

What did Jesus do when you saw Jerusalem. What there's Jerusalem. Those ungrateful to work. That's what love does, then he goes through this series. Love bears all things. Love bears all things that would stay go for bears means it protects everything good of God means covers by God covers our sin. That's really what it means when it says bears there. He said love bears all things, it believes all things, he doesn't mean that it's naïve or cynical, it doesn't mean that he means in the sense that it what is true love believes God asserted, I believe it. In this case of God said to me on the love everybody else and consider anyone else. More importantly, I believe that I don't believe anything else that somebody else would tell me. He then says it hopes all things.

Love is optimistic, loves, not pessimistic. It's optimistic and love endures all things. By the way, under all things. There does that include pandemics. I think it says love endures pandemics because love endures all things. So back in verse four when he said it is patient of this kind is not jealous. It does not brag and it is not proud.

For our arrogant he does not at the end of the chapter and verse 13 it says, but now faith, hope and love abide in these three but the greatest of these is love is the greatest thing. So how do I overcome neurosis with love never fails.

I love it in God's eyes. When you love never fails. Doesn't matter how anyone else response to God will reward how I overcome pride loving God with all I have in loving others as I love myself. The cure for pride is love. Don't forget this. The presence of pride in your life means there's an absence of love in your life. Don't let the circumstances were under now be a crucible for pride to grow in your life it will bring any glory to God.

It will destroy you and you have no effect on others except negative. It's really simple, just obey our Lord's most important thing in the Old Testament love love God with everything you have and of everyone else as you love yourself. Love destroys pride.

The spring father.

The problem with the sin of pride is were so used to it. We carried around with us every day in our lives that we don't even recognize it in ourselves.

But I pray father on the basis of what the word said was the day some of us are convicted by this and realize that the statements that we make and the feelings that we have through this pandemic are simply issues of our own pride father. It's our desire to love you as you've loved us and to do so. Father, we have to drive pride away from us. That's my prayer for us that we follow our Lord in his example we become lovers of God and lovers of Jesus and pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever missed one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time.

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