Stop Bragging - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ all came to Christ. He said you know before I came, I could bite almost everything about people admired by phone. Christ knew what I don't brag about any of those things I come from, but lost the rubbish to me is about a man have the privilege of knowing I reset I I am willing to brag about that, by the way, in the Scripture and the new brag about God praise every time you say praise the writing joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor know your heart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now was once again he shows us God's word meets our work.

Today we find ourselves right in the middle of our two national political convention. Much of the conduct of a political convention as I saw this past week is bizarre. Some of it virtually incoherent, but if you watch any of a political convention one conclusion is obvious. There's a lot of bragging going on mean that's what it is. The first three days you have person after person come up and brag about the nominee and a brag about what kind of person the nominee is in a brag about the past of the nominee and then make. They brag about what the future's going to be with the nominee and then at the end of so the crescendo the nominee gets up and repeats the process. The general history is taught us something that when it comes to the future. The candidate may have overstated their potential bragging is part of the American fiber is sort of a popular social support in our country we brag, I brag you brag on the surface it may not seem like it's that important or it's sort of innocent is in it and the answer categorically without a doubt if you're a child of God is absolutely not bragging is simply the tongue putting into words. A distorted view of ourselves that flows from a deceitful heart and an inflated ego.

I read this week that an inflated ego is a disease that makes everyone sick. But the person that has you see, I think too often instead of listening to the word of God.

What we do is God's children as we listen to the culture we sort of pick up on the clichés of the culture you know if you got it, flaunt it, but I'm afraid that there's even a deeper reason why many of us brag and that is simply that I think many of us feel that if I don't praise myself nobody else will.

So we brag the word of God is quite explicit when it comes to the children of God in this whole subject of bragging would you open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2 and will then look at verses three and four were in the middle of a series called the weight of your words and up the very first time we got together and talked about the series were in the book of James and James gave us six reasons why we have to control our tongue. One is. He says that God will judge our words. It will bring judgment from God our words also reveal our spiritual maturity. Your tongue is tied directly to your soul where your heart. Our tongue desires to control us and our tongue can be used to corrupt us. James tells us in our tongue on our own is virtually untamable in our words are so often hypocritical and then we talked about last time the message was simple. It was we need to stop lying.

We need to stop lying and there were several reasons but the two most important reasons we need to stop buying is one God hates lying there not a lot of things in the Bible that says explicitly that God hates but lying is one of them and also the Bible says God delights in the truth, and we also know from the last time that what we have is that each and every one of us because we are indwelt by the Spirit of God we have the capacity to speak the truth in love to one another in the stop line. So today the message is pretty clear we need to stop bragging were commanded here, at least by inference to stop lying. Notice what verse three says he says do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do nothing from selfishness. What's amazing to me. When you look at the text that were due is and in the text.

There's no verb in the text is no due. It simply says in the Greek text. Nothing selfish now that covers a lot, doesn't it. How many things can I be selfish about. According to this text. Nothing. Nothing selfish and outward celebration Arimathea is an interesting word. It's the advancement of self do nothing to advance yourself and then he says do nothing from selfishness and then regrettably translated in English or empty conceit with the translators.

I think I think the translators there didn't want to really use the word because of how important the word is another context, but the NIV says vain conceit, it's compound word two words. The word empty is a great translation it's keno and it means empty, but the second word translated conceit is Dolch. Yeah and dogs is glory. In fact, every time in New Testament you talk about the glory of God. It still works you. He says do nothing from selfishness or empty glory. In other words, when you and I are selfish or when you and I brag you're doing it from empty glory. There isn't any. There, in fact, the way you could translated is obviously the glorification of emptiness. My take on it is my paraphrase the bill paraphrase on this is simply this, the promotion of your zero notice. Okay, that's what you do when you brag you are promoting your senior role nets when you brag it because it empty glory or empty conceit. That's hard for us. You see, I think that's really difficult for us to do. We are flesh once the brag just as it wants to lie, just as it once the gossip and once the brag, but I wanted to see something here. It's all a matter of how you see yourself as a child of God will go to chapter 3 and verse four. This is the apostle Paul and his context here is going to be bragging and Paul says this in verse four, although I myself might have confidence in the flesh.

Let me paraphrase pulses look if anyone really could brag it be me.

If anybody had the kind of things that they could brag about it would be me. My going to skin in the day in which he lived in the culture. He lived in the Jewish culture. You didn't brag about your favorite team. Okay. Yet, there weren't any teams you didn't brag you didn't brag about necessarily even what you owned or didn't know what you brag about Lois.

What Paul brags about this. Nobody says if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh. I far more so let me start my bragging circumcised on the eighth day. Now that doesn't mean a lot to us, but it meant a lot to a Jewish boy. Jewish boys are circumcised on the eighth day immediately. That sets them apart as part of the covenant of Abraham Gentiles were not circumcised.

The Jews could brag about that in fact remember when David called Goliath you uncircumcised Philistine say he said I was circumcised on the eighth day and then he says of the nation Israel I'm part of the covenant like you Gentiles. I have a relationship I heritage it goes back to Abraham and then he says of the tribe of Benjamin. That's bragging of all the tribes of Israel.

The time of Paul the tribe that is held in the highest esteem is Benjamin.

Benjamin is the tribe that was always said to lead Israel in the battle. Benjamin had a much better history than many of the other tribes had when it came to the issue of sin in the tribe.

He said I was a Hebrew of Hebrews now that's interesting. I was a Jew of the Jews.

If you got a bunch of Jews together and said, who was the most Jewish person here it's it's Paul Saul of Tarsus. He's a Jewish Jew. He said that's why am I my Hebrew of the Hebrews and then he says, and asked to law as a Pharisee while message for you and I point of view never brag about that because you know it's a little like the Pharisees were black hats you know and they were the kind of people with the music changes in the movie and it really look devious.

Get out because working on the other side is Christ exposed them, but I've said this over all the years.

If you were parents of a young girl in Israel you would pray that your daughter would marry a Pharisee there. The most respected people in the culture.

You see, they took the law seriously more serious than anybody else took that they had lost to law, notice what Paul says as to the righteousness which you can find in the law, blameless, what a statement. Now watch the perspective change. But whatever things were gain to me those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, he says, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but kind word in English rubbish. It's the word down. He said I count them all but done so that I may gain Christ that interesting. When Paul came to Christ. He said you know before I came, I could brag about almost everything about me. People admired me, but I found Christ. You know what I don't brag about any of those things. I count them, but loss the rubbish to me is her by the way I do brag about one thing, I have the privilege of knowing him, I know Christ.

He said I I am willing to brag about that, by the way, in the Scripture. When you brag about God.

You know what the word is used. Praise every time we say, praise the Lord your bragging on God.

You see your given praise to God, and that's what Paul said he doesn't just say it here in Romans seven.

Paul said I know that nothing good dwells in me see Paul came to a different conclusion.

I am who I am because of Jesus Christ. I don't brag anymore. Christians often we brag about all kinds of things are what Paul was Christians will brag about their spirituality.

Christians brag about their service. You may have heard some bragging today.

You might have done some bragging today whenever you're going to do something like that.

Hey I you know you're sitting there thinking I think I'd like to go with those notes of encouragement and going to those into those assisted living areas and dissing for people but it's not enough for me just to go, I need to tell someone I'm going to do that. You see if I can go up to Somerset, I think I'm going to do that.

You see, when we doing is what happens when we do things like that. Why are we doing this we can brag about our spirituality or service, but think about it this way.

Think of both of those categories and Jesus said this to believers in John 15, and apart from me you can do nothing. He said nothing. So if I'm going to brag my bragging about brag about the Lord you see in my spirituality and in my service in his grace and his mercy. I'm writing about the Lord.

There's no place for us to do this were commanded not to brag. Secondly, though, when we do brag we embezzle God's glory. That's what's what's so wrong about bragging go with me to James chapter 4 the book of James chapter 4 and verse 13.

I love the first two words of verse 13. Come now notice put it in our vernacular, come on man, and that's what he said come on man, and he's going to use this context, he says, come now, you say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit is is you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow you're just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. This is interesting. When I first read this passage and was looking at it. I thought I would even recognize this is bragging to see God recognize it is bragging, bragging, but I wonder recognize that is bragging. I'm not her people brag up even heard some of you brag is a lot more obvious to me than this all this guy said as I tomorrow the next and when to go to another place and I'm going to be there year number to do business and makes money that sounded bragging to you see it's interesting, bragging, always assumes things and are some assumptions going on here. He says you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow and are you just a vapor that appears for a little while and then you vanish away. None of us a promise tomorrow. Certainly not next year. You see your presuming things when you brag always presume things he said I'm going to do this.

Notice he then says instead you want to say if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that I can presume when anything with the Lord my life my direction. My success belongs to the Lord.

It doesn't belong to me but whenever I brag and tell you what I'm going to do.

I'm embezzling the Lord's glory.

Notice what James then says, but as it is. He says you boast in your arrogance while you boast in your arrogance that were boast comics or my only time in an entire New Testament. You see that word boast their Cox over my literally it means a wondering whack. That's what made put it in American West. A snake oil salesman somebody it does arrive, saying something will be able to deliver something that never really does.

That's what he says here about bragging, but as it is, you boast in your arrogance. Now watch all such boasting is evil when you rather seen the word misguided a mistake evil.

I mean Isis is evil.

Yes Isis is evil. Bragging is evil is not my opinion that's what the words bragging is evil while why because in embezzle's the glory of God see what does belong to God is something new embezzle and try to own for yourself pieces. Therefore, to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it to him and his sin. You see, no bragging, there's no place for now. Are you sure what why is God so uptight about this. Why is it so important to go with me to first Corinthians chapter 6, first Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19 and here Paul explains it in a little bit different way. In verse 19 of chapter 6 of first Corinthians, Paul says, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, that you are not your own, for you have been bought with a price.

Therefore glorify God in your body. The dose goes the God glorify God. He gives four reasons. Here one God is taken up residency in each and every one of us to a child of God when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you were indwelt by the Spirit of God to therefore you are not your own, you're not your own anymore. You belong to God you been born again into the family of God. Three. You were bought with a price. You were redeemed, you were purchased with a price not gold and silver, Peter says, but with the precious blood of Christ. You have been bought with a price. Therefore, he says you need to glorify God, not the empty vessel you see if my tongue is going to brag of my tongue is going to give praise it better not be for me, it better be for the Lord to save me. The God who created me see that's what he is saying this is really serious stuff, the God when I illustrate that I want you to go with me to the book of acts chapter 12 the book of acts chapter 12 in verse 20. I could've gone to a lot of places I for example you could going to the Old Testament.

Nebuchadnezzar member Nebuchadnezzar this great king of Babylon, and he made a statue of himself and it was 90 feet high and the only reason was intolerance.

Probably that's all they could do.

He got a 90 foot statue and yes you want to come and worship him now if that's not bragging, I don't know what is how that turned out for did he end up like a cow chewing the cud eating grass. What was the message there see what is God saying I don't share my glory. I don't care for King about one pastor broke apart on the radio ministry and fellowship.

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