The call of God is the call to a life of simplicity and humility, not pride!

The call of God is the call to a life of simplicity and humility, not pride.

Hello and welcome to Jeshurun Ministries weekly program, Preach the Gospel. Trouble is coming to the earth. The program designed to give you solutions for living victoriously in this troubled world.

Pride is defined as an excessive sinful focus on self, arrogance, and an attitude of independence from God that leads to destruction. It is viewed as the root of sin and a haughty spirit that opposes humility. It often results in conflict and divine judgment. Pride is self- worship, reliance on self instead of God, and is the opposite of humility. Two similar words are self-righteousness and conceit.

Listen to this story. As the pastor was about to close the service, a young man known to the pastor came up in answer to the altar call. He'd prayed for the young man before, the pastor had, and he looked into the eyes of the young man, who gazed directly back at him. He had long been puzzled about what had caused this young man to lose his way. The young man stood there with a very proud and smug look, with a strange grin on his face. He stood there boldly and almost defiantly with one hand clasped over the other directly in front of him and his chest pushed out.

And when the pastor asked him if he had committed his life to the Lord before, he told the pastor he had done so many times, almost as if he was boasting. And when the pastor asked him what had happened, he said proudly that his strong masculinity had prevented him from staying true to his commitment. And the pastor asked him whether he would allow his lust of the flesh to prevent him from appearing before our great God and king. At this point, the conversation broke down as the pastor soon realized that the young man did not appear to be serious. Nevertheless, realizing that he is not God, the pastor led the young man through the sinner's prayer once more. After church, he told the young man to come and see him, and the young man brushed him off rudely, as if to say, "Not interested."

The following morning, the pastor was troubled and pondered this event. He wondered what had caused this clearly educated young man with excellent penmanship to lose his mind, to lose his job, and to become homeless living in a vehicle. And the Lord showed him the spirit of pride and revealed to him that pride is one of the greatest obstacles standing in the way of true repentance.

Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." The writers of the books of Peter and James both agree with this and make identical statements which say, "God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble." As a result, pride has brought down some of God's finest men and women. Perhaps the pastor will be able to reach the young man in their next encounter. However, it is clear that unless we address pride in our lives, we can never find God. And not only that, God will be against us, He will be an enemy to us. And this is a hard place to be in.

Father, I pray a special blessing upon every listener to this message and pray that you would bless them with a desire to live the simple and humble life of Jesus Christ. Cause them to know that without humility, no one will see Your precious face. Bless them and their family, Father, we pray in the holy and the wonderful name of Your humble Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

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There are many outstanding personalities of recent and ancient times whose lives stand out as lessons about the destructive power of pride and arrogance.

There's Muhammad Ali who would have been without question the greatest boxer of all time were it not for his pride. His most famous statements was I am the greatest. He did not give God the glory. He did not believe in the One true God. Nor did he believe in His Son Jesus Christ. So he joined the Muslim movement which was popular among many black American men in those days. He was humbled by the disease called Parkinson for which there is no cure. And for many years, his poetic way of speaking and his float like a butterfly and sting like a bee style was replaced by a hesitant slow speech and trembling steps. A far more humble version of the well-loved and admired flashy boxer who had thrilled the world and had become a household name in almost every nation on earth.

Then there's the famous and revered cycling champion Lance Armstrong. The man who thrilled the cycling world by winning seven consecutive tour to France championships. His problem was that he was obsessed with being the greatest man that ever lived and was driven by this pride to break all the barriers in order to achieve this end. Unfortunately, the US anti-doping agency found him guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs in a massive doping conspiracy and he was stripped of his seven titles and banned from competitions for the rest of his life.

Then there's the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, the great Babylonian king, who took all the credit for building Babylon, the greatest city of the ancient world, giving no credit to God. And one day, as he boasted about this great achievement, the Lord struck him with madness and he was forced to live outdoors like an animal for seven years. And after seven years, he lifted his eyes to heaven and repented. He praised, honored, and glorified the Most High God. And in return, God gave him back his kingdom, and all his splendor was returned to him, and he became greater than before. Oh, the mercy of God.

There are many other examples like Harvey Weinstein, the powerful and arrogant film producer who was infamous for his arrogance and abusive ways and was sent to prison.

There was Julius Caesar, whose pride led to his assassination, and OJ Simpson, the superstar American footballer who was sent to prison for murder.

And there are many, many more. Apparently, many people lose their minds due to pride. Psychologists say pride seems to take away rationality and good decision making. They say people filled with pride become rigid, inflexible to change, dull of hearing, so that they are sometimes seemingly incapable of learning new ways. They also become blind to the value of good people that are around them. And studies say that even when they're faced with clear and indisputable facts, they have a reluctance to adjusting their course because they've invested so much time, so much money, so much energy in the path that they have chosen. And even though it is clearly not going well, they have this inability to change their course and prevent what is certain to be destruction.

Get behind me devil in the name of Jesus Christ. We ought to say when we realize that pride is trying to control us. Pride causes people to feel as if they're entitled and they develop a kind of narcissism and they are never satisfied nor appreciative of what is done by others. Always demanding more and more. And this foolish pride may cause them to act in self-destructive ways. Studies on pride say that it stunts emotional development. It limits cognitive flexibility and prevents emotional maturity. These concepts agree with those found in the holy scriptures about the destructive power of pride which can lead to a loss of peace, a loss of perspective and an instability in individuals everywhere and at every level of society. Friend, pride is not only a disease of the rich. There are many homeless people on the streets whose biggest problem is pride.

Saul of Tarsus was on the road to destruction because foolish pride kept him in the dark about the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And even when he consented to the stoning of righteous Steven who said, "Look, I see the heavens open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God." Saul refused to budge. And then as they stoned Steven, he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And still the hard heart of Saul refused to change.

Pride blinded him so that he could not see that he was persecuting God. And because he was blind to the truth of God, the Lord struck him with physical blindness for three days, which humbled him and caused him to see the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he became a greater herald for the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul did, than the apostles of Christ who had walked with Him for three years.

Here is a stark and astonishing picture of pride versus humility. The scene unfolded on the day that Jacob, who had now become Israel, and would one day be the father of the greatest nation on earth, reunited with his brother, Esau, with whom he had had a troubled relationship growing up. And there was Jacob leaning on his staff and limping along as he moved toward his brother. His wives, children, and concubines were behind him as he crossed over perhaps a river by himself to meet his brother. Not knowing what to expect, he bowed fearfully before his brother, who was traveling with an entourage of 400 fighting men.

His brother was now a tribal leader, head of a nation of people that would become the Edomites. While his brother received him warmly on that day, the Edomite and the Israelite nations were stark enemies for many years until the Edomites disappeared and some of them became Israelites.

Or consider King David, who was considered the least of seven or eight sons of Jesse. When the prophet Samuel came to their house looking for the son whom the Lord God had chosen to be Israel's second king, all the sons of Jesse's were paraded before Samuel. All that is except one. The youngest son, David, was in the field keeping the sheep and was not even considered to be an option. Yet he was the one whom God later described as a man after God's own heart.

Then in Ecclesiastes 9 and 14 to 16, there is a short story called the parable of the poor wise man. The story tells about a small city that was attacked by a great king. But the city was saved by this poor wise man. Then afterwards, no one remembered the poor wise man. No one recalled the wonderful blessing that he had been to the city, saving it from destruction. And no doubt this was a humble, quiet man who moved with wisdom and humility and was led by the Most High God.

And the Lord led him to save the city by his wisdom which was given him by God. And this is also evidence that humility will not necessarily bring you worldly fame. It will not cause you to be on the 6:00 news, but it will bring you into the presence of our great God. And this man has been included in the book of life among the prophets and patriarchs of the great nation of Israel. And this is a picture of none other than Jesus Christ, the humble servant of the Most High God.

And this also brings to mind that the people of the world who turn to Jesus Christ sometimes went from being somebody to becoming nobody in the eyes of the world. They may appear to have lost some of their edge in fact that had propelled them into fame and instant recognition. In the eyes of the world, they become diminished. But in the eyes of God, they are enhanced. They are increased and their value explodes. Their true value is recognized for the first time because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And their lives are given divine purpose.

In conclusion, humility, friend, will not bring you fame and recognition, but it will bring you into the presence of our great God and King. It will bring you into the host of angels that surround the throne of our great God. It will cause you to become a member of a throne of true believers in Christ Jesus, harvested out of the earth by the washing and cleansing of Jesus Christ's redeeming blood. And this harmonious group of like-minded, humble servants of the Most High God, having gone through trials, having gone through tribulations, for the gospel of Jesus Christ, will join with the four living creatures with the 24 elders and the mighty host of angels who are before the throne of God. And they will all be saying, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. It will be joy unspeakable and full of glory. We all want to be there on that glorious day. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name."

You've been listening to this message and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Well, He wants to give you an opportunity to make that decision today. Humble yourself and say this prayer after me:

• Father, I am a sinner.

• I'm truly sorry for all my sins.

• And for the many ways that I have been despicable to You.

• Please forgive me.

• I have decided to invite Jesus Christ into my heart.

• Dear Lord Jesus, make my heart Your home.

• And give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth.

• I give You the key to my heart today because I want to belong to You forever.

• Help me to run this race victoriously in Jesus name. Amen.

Welcome friend to the body of believers in Christ. There are so many of us here awaiting the return of the Good Master. In the meantime, we want to encourage you to let your pastor know that you've committed your life to the Lord and you want to be baptized the way Jesus Christ was baptized by immersion.

Begin reading the Word of God every day. Begin in the book of John reading audibly as often as possible because faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Hear it with your ears and your faith will be increased. And then go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Pray daily. Attend at your local church. And one glad morning the Savior will come and receive us all unto Himself. And we shall indeed forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.