PRIDE SETS US UP FOR DESTRUCTION.
18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. 19 Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud. 20 Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful. Proverbs 16:18-20 NLT
18 First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. 19 It’s better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous. 20 It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in God. Proverbs 16:18-20 The Message
- Pride is no respecter of persons.
GOD HATES PRIDE.
The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished. Proverbs 16:5 NLT
16 There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, 18 a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, 19 a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family. Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT
- We usually do hate when others are prideful.
- We tend to embrace it when it belongs to us.
PRIDE POISONS OUR MIND AND HEART.
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you
do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5 NLT
• Pride was the first sin.
• Pride was man’s first sin, and it will be his last.
• We all struggle with this sin at some level.
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. Psalm 10:4 NIV
• Pride assaults God’s throne and asserts its independence in an attempt to dislodge God as the Sovereign of the universe.
PRIDE IS SATANIC.
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. 13 For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. 14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’
15 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.” Isaiah 14:12-15 NLT
• Lucifer became the devil when he arrogantly became infatuated with himself.
• It’s his most effective weapon.
THREE FORMS OF PRIDE – VANITY, CONCEIT, AND ARROGANCE.
(We will unpack these topics more next week.)
I WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME HOPE AGAINST THIS ATTACK WE ALL FACE.
In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:5-7 NL
