Gospel

11/14/2020 Seventh Day BAPTIST Edgewater FL Pastor Keith “Forsake Pride”

by Miz KJV Only
11/14/20
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11/14/2020 Seventh Day BAPTIST Edgewater FL Pastor Keith “Forsake Pride” Matthew 23:1-12

In Proverbs 16:18 it says “Pride goes before destruction”. In our text, Jesus warned the crowd to not be proud. The Pharisees and Elders had a “me-first” attitude and wanted to be at the head of the line.  They wanted to get all the praise. The Pharisees and Elders were proud men that expected to be honored and had this “me-first” thinking.

Scripture says that God opposes the proud. Scripture says God will punish people who don’t listen to Him and He will break down their pride. Pride makes no room for God and pride makes people forget all that God has done for them. Scripture says being a friend of the world makes you an enemy of God. Pride causes people to seek friendship of this world and they want praise, applause from the crowd.

To Avoid Pride:

1)     Don’t Do Things to Get Noticed and to Get Attention. Don’t do things to get marveled at by the people. Jesus said our giving should be done in secret and our prayers should be done in secret in a closet. We should not do these things so all can see us. Jesus also said when you fast, don’t do it for show but do it in secret because it is God we want to please and not the world. Proud people cannot do this because they want to be noticed, want to be first, want to tell everybody all the stuff that that they did. This is because they want the applause and attention.

We should let God see our humbleness and let God put us first and not ourselves. Being humble before God will get us blessed. The proud man who trusts in himself is a fool as the Bible says. The proud and selfish say that God helps those who help themselves. This is not a biblical scripture but is a saying that the proud use to justify their evil. God does help those who try to please Him and they will get help from God.

2)     Don’t Desire Lofty Titles and Names for Yourself.  Jesus said to not desire lofty titles and names that elevate yourself. This puts us above other people and Jesus said we should be servants of God. Therefore we should not hold people in awe, with their lofty titles that supposedly give them authority. The only authority we have is in Jesus Christ. The need for a title shows a person’s inner pride. Titles are important to people because it makes them feel important.

A true Christian is a servant of God and Jesus with a humble heart. They are humble with no pride about what they do for God. They are not looking for the applause of the world. They are humbling themselves in the sight of the Lord and the Lord will lift them up. It is God who sustains us.

Amen.