Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture from The book of Proverbs.
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
First of all, the refusal to repent of sin and submit to the will of God, is a direct result of pride in one’s life. When somebody is puffed up with pride, they will become filled with rebellious behavior, which is to resist authority, control, or convention. Many places that profess to follow Christ are like a wife who will not hearken to the commands of her husband. They refuse to submit to the teachings of the New Testament, and unless they repent, they most certainly will perish. Rebellion is not rewarded, it is punished by God.
1 Samuel 15 ²² And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
There are many false prophets throughout the world today, and it will get much worse. Many of them claim to be followers of Christ, who are actually leading people away from obedience to God. They have infiltrated high places of religious authority, and are educating people in a lie, rather than biblical truth. The devil is too proud to repent and submit to the teachings of scripture, and will lead others into direct rebellion and disobedience toward the will of God. But just as God punished the devil in the garden of Eden, He will do the same today, inflicting the rebellious with pain, suffering and even death.
Jeremiah 28 ¹⁵ Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
¹⁶ Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. ¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
When people are filled with pride, they will usurp over Christ Jesus and the teachings of the New Testament. The Apostle Peter did this, and Jesus referred to him as Satan. Women are filled with the same spirit when they refuse to bring themselves into subjection to the authority of men. The Apostle Paul didn’t put up with this behavior at all within the church. Shortly before the return of Jesus, the rebellious and arrogant man of sin, will usurp over everything that is called God.
2 Thessalonians 2 ³ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴ Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Why don’t people repent? Pride.
Why don’t people seek reconciliation with God or others? Pride.
Why don’t people change their attitudes and submit to God’s will? Pride.
Why don’t people humbly confess their faults to God and others? Pride.
Pride is completely eliminated through obedience to the teachings of scripture. Those who are proud will be cast down, but those who humbly obey shall be lifted up.
James 4 ⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. ⁵ Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. ⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Pride comes before the fall. Look what happened to Pharaoh as an example. His life was completely obliterated and left in shambles because of his own refusal to submit to the commands of the Lord. This is what God does to arrogant and pride-filled people. He absolutely hates the sin, and their deeds shall not go unpunished.
“Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.” Proverbs 16:5
“O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” Psalms 31:23
Choosing to disobey the will of God will only result in pain, sorrow and suffering.
“When pride cometh, then cometh shame:……Proverbs 11:2
“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.” Proverbs 18:12
“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Proverbs 29:23
Those who are too arrogant to repent, and display an absolute refusal to submit to the teachings of scripture, will quickly face God’s wrath. It would have been better off if they hadn’t been born.
“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1
Nehemiah 9 ¹⁶ But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, ¹⁷ And refused to obey,……
“Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.” Psalms 119:21
Nothing is hidden from God. He knows those who desire to serve Him, and those who don’t. He knows those who are sincere, and those who are frauds. People in the world might not be able to tell, but God judgeth the hearts. The heart must be soft, pliable and submissive, not allowing them to become hardened with pride through the deceitfulness of sinful disobedience.
Hebrews 3 ⁷ Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, ⁸ Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
⁹ When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. ¹⁰ Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. ¹¹ So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) ¹² Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Spiritual pride is deadly, because in that state, people refuse to repent.
“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.” Luke 10:15
Pride is a killer, and can destroy somebody’s life quicker than a forest fire. It must be completely eliminated from one’s life if you claim to follow the Lord Jesus. Pride manifests itself through rebellion and willful disobedience towards God. Those who refuse to submit are only going to find themselves fighting against God, which is a battle that they will never win.
The feet of the proud will slide in due time, but when we continue down the path of humble obedience, God will eventually….
……Lift us up
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious goups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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