Pride - Part 1

Today on the Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhart now was once again he shows us how God's word meets our world.

I said then all of us actually need open heart surgery and the reason for it is is that the heart is such an important part of our lives.

It's mentioned almost a thousand times in the Bible about our heart and I said that that the reason for that is we don't see life the way God does. We don't see people the way God. We look at the outward God said I don't do that. I only look at the heart of the nation. That was when member Samuel was going appoint David to be the next king of Israel. The other thing is we underestimate the value of the destructive value of our own heart.

Jeremiah said the heart of a man is desperately wicked. It's deceitful above all things. It deceives us and I think also, one last thing when it comes to that is, is that we need to understand that everything comes out of our mouth originates in the heart everything and you there's no such thing as all it just slipped out. Now it started out hard and made its way to our mouth. So the first week I talked about. I talked about guilt. Some of us have guilt. Most of our lives, we feel guilty about just terrible things we've done and that will try to make it clear that Jesus Christ not only died for your sin that your sins are forgiven, but he died for your guilt. Paul said there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, not guilty forgot, you have to feel guilty. You acknowledge your senior move one steadfast love of the Lord never changes his mercies never come to an end's new every morning new every morning and you have to think about it that way.

Secondly, we dealt with the whole idea fear and that that's used by 100 times just in the New Testament, fear not, fear not, fear not, fear not, why does he tell us that because we fear and strange you think his words would encourage us. Were not to have fear, you think that would do it but it doesn't. How many times did he tell the disciples fear not. And were they afraid yes they continue to be for every time he tested them. As I said they got an F every time every time he tested to see if they have fear they did anything. Oh you of little faith. This idea of the disciples until he was raising the dead until he was resurrected from the dead and they were convinced that he was raising the dead. From that moment on, no fear in any of no fear at all because of the resurrection of Christ, that should apply to us using one of my afraid of, say, say that over time, the worse it could happen. You can Avenue you see one of my afraid up. Christ is alive wasn't someone who died 2000 years ago someone is alive today for us that I dealt with envy and I said that envy is a consuming sin and has terrible terrible consequences.

We envy a lot of different things about other people have. I said probably the best way of getting rid of your envy is the live for an audience of one. If you live your life an audience of just one, not others. What other people think what other people care you could get rid of the envy in your life. We dealt with anger that you 70 times in the New Testament and I said Christians often make the mistake that every time were angry. It's righteous indignation, like we get angry just like God's.

I know we don't we get angry like we do, and you can't say by the way, the things you love to say here she just makes me so angry. No one can make you angry angers an inside job that's on you that's not on them.

You see that's that's what happened.

Anger occurs because most the time when we have frustrated expectation.

We have an expectation about the system people, whatever were frustrated and then we have an outburst with this whole idea of anger and I and so I said how do we deal with this kind of anger and I think a couple of the best ways is one we need to forgive everybody justice crisis forgiven us. That's what the Bible says you have to be a forgiving person is have to be able to do that and I think the other thing is Paul just says that you have to live with. Heaven and mine and he says put aside anger towards it says take your clothes off. That's an expression great just put aside and forgive, and you won't have to do with all this anger then last week we dealt with worry and anxiety.

I started out by telling you in almost every survey shows the same thing only about 8% of the things you worry about have anxiety about ever happens, we think that a percent 910 things you never even going to face.

And so what we worry about by never happening is hot, but I can control how I worry and I said at that time you can if you really believe in the sovereignty of God. What I mean by that. Well, the Bible says this what is God sovereign over everything affected. City sovereign over the universe, then he sees sovereign over the earth. He sovereign over nations and that amazing he sovereign over everybody all the affairs of men who leaves who doesn't use him sovereign over all of this he sovereign over our lives in every detail to such detail that he said I even know how many hairs you have in your head. That's how involved I am in your life. Romans 828 says all things work together for your good. That's God's promise to you see, he said I'm sovereign over everything.

If you really believe that what would you worry about.

I know God is sovereign.

I know he loves me and I know he'll never leave me nor forsake me.

So the whole idea know I can escape the consequences of living on a cursed planet is a simple person there consequences but I don't need to worry or have anxiety about so often in Scripture. Jesus commands us do not worry. So this week what I want to deal with.

In the end of this series is simply this, I want to deal with the worst of them all. If I had to say is the foundation of all the others. The worst thing about your hard and mine we call what God prime is the absolute worst thing about me and you. It's our pride is the bedrock of all sin. Think of this in Ezekiel 28 Lucifer was the greatest single achievement of God's creative ability and you look like was going to well. He was called the anointed cherub until he looked in the mirror, metaphorically, he looked at himself and said look at how magnificent I am and then from that moment pride filled his heart and then you have is grateful.

It was such a great fall in Isaiah 14. Isaiah writes it five times, he says I will be like the most time I will sit on the holy mountain nurses pride you go all the way to the garden of Eden. The serpent shows up and what is the appeal that he uses to Eve. How does he get mankind to sit pride if you read of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will be just like who God I like to be like God and so we sin, that's pride, that's how pride works is everywhere.

It deals with us in so many ways we see it all around us but I can tell you this is going to get worse before it gets better for all of us.

I want you to turn with me to have second Timothy chapter 3, second Timothy chapter 3 Paul's writing to the church is trying to explain to Timothy what it's gonna be like in the last days. It's interesting because the last days go from this time all the way to this our time because he thought as know when the last days of ultimately be the last days he just knows there in the last days so he says this realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come in if you were listening to Jesus Christ, especially on the all the discourse you find out that it things are just going to go from bad to worse. And that's why it's always interesting. You know, Christians would get all upset when something's like it's getting worse than it was all him here to tell you is I don't know when the last days are going to occur, but I do know this. If we're near the last days of were near them.

Paul was going to get worse and worse.

That's a promise not to change it by wanting a change in not going to go to the voting booth and change it. It's going to be what God wants it to be in the last days. Here's what he said. He said these difficult times. Men will be lovers of self, we call it narcissism, but that means problem men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, sounds kind of familiar to boastful, arrogant, there is revolvers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful and wholly unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God sounds pretty bad.

The word I want to look at is the word arrogant is an interesting word. It's almost like Paul made up the word is hoopoe fan office its two Greek words, not just one. And it's interesting. Hoopoe means above and fan office means lifted up so your above lifted up. In other words, issues, and to work to try to make a point. That's why they didn't translate prideful that wasn't good enough, arrogant, see once I say very good. Do you mean something different than someone is just prideful. That's what Paul means. That's how bad men will be know what's interesting about it is we often think yeah you know what I think it's that way. Look at Hollywood little Washington little Wall Street. Look how arrogant those people are, I bet sounds good except he's not talking about them out there is talking about it here is done by the church that the church is going to be full of people who are arrogant that the church is going to be full of people who were materialistic, full of people were narcissist's warning Timothy's notice what he says in verse five holding to a form of godliness. They claim to be godly. Although they have denied its power. You need to avoid such ministries. These are people who are looking in a sense, deceive the church and deceive the church with their arrogance. It's interesting as he goes on with that but let me just say this that I have seen in the last 2025 years, something I've never seen an evangelical church before.

Since the Reformation and that is now with what we call the birth of the mega church in America. The mega evangelical church church is a 5000 10,000 50,000 20,000 people. Something is happening in many of these cases, the pastors of all forfeited their ministries. All of that have forfeited. Now that doesn't mean that there are tremendous guys out there in large churches. In other David Jeremiah's John MacArthur's, Charles Stanley's Chuck Swindoll's wonderful men, humble man, but what ends up happening is in every case when you read about it, the board of the church of the other leaders in the church tolerated as long as they could but they couldn't deal with the arrogance of the senior pastor. In fact, in one of them. I actually heard this.

It was in video audio thing of him on the Internet and he was in a sense, screaming at his own board saying no one can question me who questioned who could ever question me.

I build this church is and he was doing. I mean, just pure.

He gets another.

When I read the board tried for over year to convince him that he's got such a pride issue by the he wouldn't change when you think that is I can tell you because he so successful and that's how they measure success using the more successful you are in any field, the more likely you are to be prideful.

That's the problem with the human being we get prideful, the more we succeed.

So what I'd like to do now is I want to illustrate two different men who have completely different outcomes both dealing with brine. The first when I want. Look at with me is in second Chronicles 26 second Chronicles. It's right after first chronic okay second Chronicles 26 penetrates Old Testament made a pretty extraordinary man.

Second Chronicles 26 prism as it reads, and all the people of Judah took your desire, who was 16 years old and they made him king in the place of his father.

Amazon 16 K seem younger you yet 16 years old.

It said, and noticed the first thing the writer says he built it off and restored it to Judah after the King stop of his father's.

That's his father died aggregating it says he built a lively musical.

I really know what that means but that was his 1st feet. Here's what he did.

Eli is a port city right at the northern tip of the Red Sea. It's almost never been under the hands of Judah ever been under a lot of hands in support. He went made the port of the Red Sea, theirs, and I could trade with the near East. So that means prosperity for his country and he's young when he does, 16, 17 years old and he's able to take this port. That's why the writer talks about this is your desire was 16 years old when he became king he reigned for 52 years about that is a pretty long career there. He has long-term success and his mother's name is. He said Jack alive of Jerusalem. It says he did right in the side of the Lord, according to all that his father him as I had done. You don't see this very often kings of Judah. They usually do right kings of Israel and the north. Not one of them ever did right. Everyone was against God. This is the only but Judah had some who were faithful. This is one it says to continue to seek God in the days of Zachariah. Now you know the context that ride the prophet who had understanding through the vision of God and as long as he sought the Lord God prospered. What's the prosperity. Now he went out and he warred against the Philistines sounds just like David and he broke down the wall of Gath in the wall of jabbed in the wall of Ashdod and rebuild cities in the area of Ashdod, and among the Philistines and God help them against the Philistines and against the Arabians who lived in he says girl L and they said them unites and the ammonites also gave tribute to his eye and his fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong is the first king really that ever got rid of a lot of the-ites member when it got to the promised land is supposed to get really-ites dating get rid of all the-ites of the-ites stayed and so he now your desires driving the-ites out of the land of Judah and Israel, God's prospering.

Then it says after that. Moreover, use I have built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the Valley gate and at the and he said in the corner buttress any fortified he's making Jerusalem was the impossible city to attack. He's putting towers and it.

You see, so that he can protect it. He built towers in the wilderness he human many cisterns, for he had much livestock both in the low land and in the plane. He also had plowman and vine dressers in the hill country and the fertile fields. He loved the soil. He's having success like Solomon touches turns to gold. So now he has tremendous flocks.

Tremendous grapes torment ES crops everywhere he has people to do all this. Moreover, use I had an army ready for battle, which entered combat by divisions. According to the number their master prepared, he says, by Jill Powell and he said the scribe, and he says Marciano the official under the direction of Hannah and I one of the kings officers. The total number of heads of households of valiant warriors 2600 that all all that means. That's the leaders also modern armies system as leaders now watch. He said under their direction was an elite army of 307,500 at that time in history not part of the world that always as big as Egypt for the biggest armies in the world country like to 307,500 who could wage war with great power to help the king against the enemy. Moreover, use I cared for the Army shield spears. How much body armor bows and sling stones.

In other words, this armies like an American army. It's very well-equipped once I take money and he had been in Jerusalem. He made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners, he said, for the purpose of shooting arrows and he said in great stones. What is catapults think a nuclear weapon in that day is enhance his fame spread before, for he was my he was marvelously help until he was strong as a pretty great man 58 years walk with the Lord victory over the enemies tremendous prosperity for his nation. And then there's that word but there is, after all that, but when he became strong is what his heart, there is heart disease. His heart was so proud while God blessed them with all those blessings for that long, and now is a man full of pride and he acted correctly. He was unfaithful to the Lord is God and notice what he did.

He entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense using set that's about as big an act of disobedience that can exist in the nation. The only people to go in the temple of God of the Levites, the sons of Aaron. They have a priesthood. No one else could do this. No, not even king can do this now watch what happens then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him any priest of the Lord, valiant men widely called men you're challenging the absolute authority in your world a king like a dictator number given a challenge. Now, if you know anything about emperors is a dictator's of the easy people to challenge another not try.

They oppose desire the king and said to him is not for you. You decide to burn incense the Lord, but for priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God, but you desire with a sensor in his hand for burning incense their dues was enraged.

No one challenges me ever talks like that proximate is enraged you get, you can challenge me on the king and while he was enraged with the priest leprosy broke out on his four head before the priest in the house of the Lord, beside the altar of incense and Azariah, the chief priests and all the priest look at him, and behold, he was leprous on his four head and they hurried him out of there and he himself also hasten to get out because the Lord at Summit instant leprosy.

By the way, the one he would want in the temple which is the presence of the Lord is leprosy leprechaun even lover could go near it desires in it and he's got leprosy instantly from God in the pre-say we better get a muddier and he even realizes I better get out of you read the rest of the story simply let me say suffice with this God who blessed him is now the God who discipline the blessing was extreme and so is this something about pastoral number on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listen to the message one more time. Remember that you can Google a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online at that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio programs as well Fellowship in the Word.

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