Herod's Pride - Part 2

Today on the Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ him. Jesus had every advantage of being God. Every advantage of the Jesus was timeless. He was limitless. He was boundless effect. Colossians 1 says all things were created by him and for him.

How many things of every little thing from microscopic bacteria to the skies and breath of the universe. Every single thing you realize that if you could and had a special like the good everything that exists everything you could turn it over to the light on and it says made by the sun made made joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart fellowship in the worst radio ministry are frozen by the church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhart now is once again he shows us how God's word meets our world. Chapter 16 of Proverbs pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit. God normally hates it is only an abomination to God. But God says him to get you for that is always in God's timing be something to do it. You see, it usually takes a long time because one of the worst things about pride and am sure Herod had a two if you know people are proud they don't know the problem similar said pride is the mask of one of how we mask all of our own faults that supply does powerful don't even know to be improbable.

Everybody around the nose and the reason is because pride always hurts everybody in Philippians 2 Paul said do nothing for me. Selfish arrogance or empty conceit in first Peter 55 Peterborough God as opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. That's one of the things you see in the word of God and as part of the birth narrative. God hates pride. God loves humility and here's the issue for us. Pride comes natural to us. Humility is choice we make. Pride comes natural to you but humility is a choice that you make. That's what he tells us notice what happens when were humble.

Go to Proverbs 11 Proverbs 11 in verse two. God says this when pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom. The first thing God says is what I get people that are humble, given wisdom, not with pride again to get dishonor, but with with humility. They're going to get wisdom. He said that's going to come for me to Proverbs 15 in verse 33. Righteousness the fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility. God says I give someone who is humble, I give them wisdom and I'll give that person honor. This is coming from God is not finished. Go back to the book of Psalms with me to your left to Psalm 25 in verse nine, Psalm 25 in verse nine he said concerning this verse it out pick it up good and upright is the Lord, therefore he instructs sinners in the way he leaves the humble injustice, and he teaches the Humble Is Way, God is all not only give the humble wisdom and give them honor.

I give them justice, but also give them direction. I will lead humble people.

This makes sense because if you're not humble you will never let the Lord lead you. He said there is the difference in the Bible is just full of quotes like this, Psalm 138 the Lord is supreme. He takes care of those who are humble. Isaiah 57 God says I live with people who are humble Isaiah 66.

These are the ones I looked on with favor those who are humble and contrite. That's what you have in the birth narrative you have this King Herod the great is his name and opposite this King you have this stable in Bethlehem and this little baby born to obscure people.

The difference between human pride and true humility.

That's what the birth narrative is about God's us can make this picture any clear to you I hate pride and I love humility. That would mean that I would have to think about my achievements less than God's achievements more you have to do. That means that I have to spend less time on my throne, and more time at the feet of his cross means we have to spend less time bragging about our work and bragging about his work. You see, the Bible says something about you. You are valuable, but you're not invaluable. Only the Lord is that I love what Jesus said in Matthew 11 he said I am gentle and humble in heart when you think about that for a moment I am gentle and humble in heart with them ever be anybody else who ever lived who should be as proud as Jesus was anybody usually talk about pride.

Is there anybody who ever lived. The should be as proud as Jesus was no one. Jesus says of himself.

He said look I am gentle and humble in heart, he's made a choice. I want to show you how this choice works go with me not to Philippians chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2 and verse three, and this really is about the birth narrative or the Christmas story. This is what really happened spiritually.

There verse three says this do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit is a commandment. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Now ask you how much wiggle room. This adverse give you even say some things little things a few things to do. Nothing shouldn't do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit.

Now you say, but I'm not like that. Okay, but see if you pass the test next part of the verse, but with humility of mind. Every go. That's humility. Now watch regard one another as more important than yourselves. Is that describing is that you do you regard everyone else is more important and you are and I'll be like in this room. Christians are really good on Sunday mornings in a house of worship. I mean, how about when you're at a restaurant you regard the servers more important and you really do you see due regard to guide comes a most aggressive more important in your seat.

To be honest.

He may even say just a few people or regard people who really are more important and you he said you regard everybody is more important and you see what what is a take on your part. You have to choose to be humble you have to make a choice because this is a natural, you know it's not.

He said do not merely look out for your own personal interest. You have to look out for the interest of others you think about your life that way and everything you run into no matter who you run into you see that's what humility does. And then he goes on describes in the most amazing way. He said Mark have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. It's a commandment it's imperative mood. You need to have the same attitude that Jesus had not a lot of things about Jesus, by the way you and I'll never be able to do is a lot of things about Jesus. You and I can never be a guy don't think you can walk on water.

You see, I don't think you can raise the dead.

See, I don't think I could feed the 5000. I don't do everything that Jesus does. But Paul says there is something that Jesus did that you can do you choose to be humble now will you. Can you choose humility member pride comes natural.

This is easy. This is Herod, but this is a choice I notice now how he tries illustrate this tremendous six verse summary of divine intervention into the world. Some people see this as a early church him some said it must've been a poem.

No one knows for sure. But Paul writes this have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus first thing who, although he existed in the form of God, numbly understand what is clear here that one form is the word more faith. Although he is in his essence. God, that's who Jesus was, in essence, he's the son of God, that's who Jesus is, although he existed in the form of God before Bethlehem. Jesus had every advantage of being God.

Every advantage of deity. Jesus was timeless. He was limitless. He was boundless. In fact, Colossians 1 says all things were created by him and for him.

Stop and think about that for a moment how many things all things every little thing from microscopic bacteria to the size and breadth of the universe. Every single thing to realize that if you could and had a special way to do it. Everything that exist everything you could turn it over, put a light on it and it says made by the Son of Man, the son of God made by Jesus Christ. He made everything he made everything every angel, every demon everything he made everything although he existed in the form of God, he had all the talking to do anything that he wanted to do here. Billions of galaxies with billions of stars is an amazing thing. One of the great things about studying astronomy to give you some sense of the scope of what he did them all when you realize even our son just an average size star 1 million nurse could fit inside the son 1 million nurse could fit inside the son. The son is only one thousands as big as some of the stars in the universe just enormous. Everyone made by the son of God made by the son of God made by the son of God, he said, although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.

How you do that. He chose to be humble.

He made the choice he said he emptied himself. Boy, those words if you want to seminary have to write papers on those words right there. The papers on emptied himself was called the current gnosis in Greek what you mean. He emptied himself, how does God empty himself and the beauty is you don't know when you first get the summer. But the longer there. You figure this out. Nobody has the complete answer for that verse exactly what that means. How does God empty himself see, but he did. He chose to my beloved is that he emptied himself of his divine prerogatives, not all of them but most of them just emptied himself, I'm not going to take any divine prerogatives. How I know he did that Jesus ever get hungry. Yes, every good Thursday. Yes ever get tired. Yes you suffer real pain. Yes, you have to know he's God, but he did. He emptied himself, he said of the divine prerogatives. Then he says taking on the form of a bondservant, bad word in English taking on the form of a bondservant, that's a regrettable word is too politically correct to make any sense. It's called the word bondservant you see what is was a bondservant. Well, he's a servant that wanted the word is do loss. You know what the word means it's really easy slave. That's all it's always used slave doesn't mean bondservant it means slave were too politically correct of colored slave you want to call it a bondservant, so he says right here.

He said he emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave. He said that and being made in the likeness of men. I created man I created man to be in his likeness now is not like you just did it on the sense of the likeness of you becomes everything that man is that's what's amazing the guy who made everything made himself small is born as a baby in a stable. He's dependent on his mother to be alive. She has the freedom he's got a little tiny heart and little tiny lungs working and he has to grow up just like you and I did.

How do you do that if your God incarnate.

You make yourself really small. What does it take to do that takes humility to see that's what he is saying.

Notice verse eight being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself was already humbling enough to become part of the creation already humbling enough to be a man so no being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.

What yeah, he humbled himself, so why did Jesus die because he humbled himself, he emptied himself of his divine prerogatives. Everything about Jesus is humility. Think about Jesus for moment was ever insulted your he was insulted with the overslept is punched. Yes, spit upon him. He was spit upon. Were any of the things people said about him and to them. True know what did Jesus do you see legacy. Why would God turn them all into dung beetles soon as you said something bad about not troop your beetle is God. What they do did nothing. What did he say he said nothing, that humility pride always. Once the fight pride. Once the fight.

Herod wants to kill off fight to hold my place no matter what Jesus said on the fighting.

I'm looking to fight at all and any sense of the word. He said that's not going to happen to me. I'm going to do absolutely nothing.

So he says, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, and that a great word, even death on the cross of all the ways you could die in the ancient world.

This is the most humbling.

This is the ultimate insult. This is the lowest form. No woman citizen could be crucified.

This is for the worst of the worst and this is the son of God himself and humbles himself, even he says death on the cross he was tortured and he was whipped he was shamed he was nailed to the cross beam. He was stripped naked. He was blotting he was made into a public spectacle and he took the nails and he took the city. He took a shame.

And he took our sins put them all upon himself. How did he do humility, he humbled himself, he made the choice six times down down down down down down he was God. He ends up dying in the worst possible way on the cross out of his humility. You see it be one thing for God in a sense to enter a human warm.

It's another thing for God to be placed in a human trauma and is all because he was humble, but the tomb couldn't hold I know about you but I'm grateful for that. That's the hope of mankind. Notice what happens then.

For this reason also, God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven and those on the earth and under the earth, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father, God says, and that once you are humble, I will exalt you and he exalts the sun how exalted Izzy. Everybody confesses everybody, Bob's Lucifer, Bob's goes on his knees and he confesses your Lord everybody every sinful person from presidents to poppers from billionaires debaters from the superstars to the homeless. Everybody is going about because the father says now I will exalt him. Why did the father exalt humility, he humbled himself closest to you and me you need to have that same attitude that has to be your attitude. One of the most difficult and terrible things. The sea is a pastor a church is the sea. Pride among God's people, and I hate to say this but I see it, and I've always seen.

It is terrible you wipe.

Pride always hurts people always. That's what pride does. And there's no reason for us to be proud.

She's your creation of God are fearfully and wonderfully made.

You had nothing to do with that you been redeemed because of the finished work of Christ. You can do anything he did everything all you did was receive a gift.

Whatever your station in life whether you're poor or rich or whatever. Whether your average or super intelligent, always a gift of God to you. You didn't do anything. What you proud about, she pride comes natural to us just part of our DNA were sinners become powerful. That's what Herod does their people in our world that mock Jesus Christ based off of the idea that they have any need for him at all.

They are self-sufficient. They were self-made. They are self-reliant. If you would ask them the bow before Jesus Christ.

They will laugh at you but I'm telling you they will not last forever. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

Everyone Isaiah 4524 all who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. See, one day, nothing else will matter. One day no one else matter. It's just going to come down to Jesus's name above all the other names every accomplishment. None of it will matter. It just comes on the Jesus CS Lewis said this, God will invade when that happens it's the end of the world when the author walks on the stage. The place over reason for this time it will be God without the skies something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible wobbler, irresistible horror, and every creature.

It will be too late. Then, to choose your side. It will be the time when we discover who side, we are really chosen. That's with birth narratives about that's the place of honor for Herod. Herod represents the most natural worst part of us human pride. God hates it is an abomination the baby in the manger represents the best we could ever be humble before God. Humble yourself before the one who humbled himself or you, that's the message. Humble yourself before the one who humbled himself or you he was the creator of everything, but he began his saving work in a stable in Bethlehem. That's a Christmas story spray father. This is difficult for us.

There are those of us father who feel the conviction of your spirit, and realizes so many times we act out of our own pride and wish we didn't we see the humility of Christ, and we want that in our own lives. Father I pray that we would move in that direction that we would choose to be humble, we would consider everyone else is more important than ourselves. Father, I fear there are those among us who are truly proud. Pride sort of tames everything about them to put a mask over all their other weaknesses and they don't feel the conviction I would pray that your spirit would convict them this morning but they understand that there have a pride and that pride is not only detrimental to their growth. But that pride hurts so many other people. There's a little of Herod in all of us father that's why Jesus came to show us a better way.

The way of humility father that's what I pray for each and every one of us.

We dedicate ourselves to being much more like our Savior did choose to humble ourselves for the good of everybody else. And for your glory for this pastor broke your heart on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever missed one of our broadcast or maybe you just like the message one more time. Remember the good or great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online that website you will find on today's broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as well have Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible.

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