Pride - The Father of All Sin

Now pride is as natural to fallen
man as breathing, and it's so natural that it grows in man's
heart like weeds in a garden. It cannot be destroyed, not in
the flesh. It grows like leaves on a tree. Pride is hard to get rid of. If it's killed, it revives. If it's buried, it'll come forth
from the tomb. And no one has more pride than
the man who thinks that he has none. You can hunt down pride
in your life and think that you've killed it, but your very exultation
is pride. And your very victory celebration
is pride. Pride is a sin with a thousand
faces, and because it perpetually changes, it escapes captivity
and destruction. Pride is found in the prison
and in the pulpit. Pride is found in the old and
in the young. Pride is found in the poor and
in the rich. Pride is found in the ignorant
and the educated. Pride is found in the weak and
in the strong. Pride is found in the unbeliever
and in the believer. And the most amazing thing about
pride is that it will grow and prosper on that which ought to
kill it. It will grow and prosper on that
which ought to kill it. Now remember four things that
I've said in introducing this message. Pride is so natural,
it is so natural to a fallen man that it grows in his heart
like weeds in a garden and leaves on a tree. And pride is so difficult
to get rid of that when you think you've killed it, when you think
you have destroyed it, your very exultation is pride. you're very rejoicing in a victory
over self, is self-righteousness and pride. And pride is a sin
with a thousand faces. It cannot always be identified,
and by perpetual change, by continually changing its faith, by continually
cropping up somewhere else, it defies destruction. And the very
thing that ought to kill sometimes is that upon which it thrives
and prospers. You say, Preacher, if it's so
prevalent, and if it's so impossible to slay, then why deal with it? Because it must be dealt with.
It must be dealt with. God hates pride, and it'll keep
a man from I want you to look at four scriptures, first of
all in the book of Proverbs, and I wish you'd turn with me
to this scripture. What I'm saying is this. Pride,
though difficult, though powerful, though impossible to stamp out
completely, must be dealt with every day by the believer, because
God hates it. Wherever God finds it, He hates
it. In Proverbs 6, verse 16, now listen to this, these six
things that God hates, yea, seven are an abomination to him, and
the first one listed, what is it? A proud look. Cover the whole
universe, cover the catalog of all scenes, go into the prisons,
into the cells, into the institutions, Go down into the cesspools of
iniquity, down into the slum sections of the city. Go into
the deep recesses of the human heart and find number one sin
that God despises and God hates, and what is it? It's pride. Look at verse 17 of that same
scripture, Proverbs 6, 17. A proud look, verse 17, a proud
look A lying tongue, hands that shed
innocent blood. Now turn over with me to Proverbs
16 it is, the 16th chapter of Proverbs, and look at verse 5. Proverbs 16, verse 5. God hates
pride. Listen to this verse. Everyone
that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. It doesn't
matter what his pride of race or whether it's pride of place,
or whether it's pride of face, or whether it's pride of grace.
It doesn't matter whether it's pride of position, or whether
it's pride of ability, whether it's pride of appearance, whether
it's pride of accomplishment, whether it's pride of righteousness
or holiness. Everyone that is proud in heart
is an abomination to God Almighty. Look at verse 18. And pride goeth
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before fall. Better it is to be of a humble
spirit with the lowly than to divide the spore with the proud.
God hates it. Turn to James chapter 4. It must
be dealt with. Pride must be dealt with in our
hearts. It must be dealt with in our
lives whenever we find it, continually. The battle is never over. There's
no discharge in this war. In James 4, verse 6, because
God hates it. And everyone that is proud of
heart is an abomination to God. In James 4, verse 6, but he giveth
more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud. God
giveth grace to the humble. Verse 16 of James 4, now you
rejoice in your boasting, and all such rejoicing is evil. Evil. Boasting is evil. We think of murder, turn to 1
John 2, we think of murder as being evil, and it is. We think
of lying as being evil, and it is. We think of adultery being
evil, and it is. We think of blasphemy, taking
God's name in vain, how horrible it is. But did you know God Almighty
says that pride is evil? It's an abomination to Him. In 1 John 2 verse 16, all that
is in the flesh, whether it be the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, or the pride of life. It's not of the Father,
but is of the world. It doesn't matter what it is.
Whether it be the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes,
or whether it be just the pride of life, that's not of God. It's an abomination to Him. Pride
was the first sin that invaded the Holy Universe. If you'll
turn to Isaiah 14 with me, Isaiah the 14th chapter, beginning with
verse 12, you'll see that pride If we could, in our thoughts,
go back before man was made, go back to when the morning stars
sang together, when the sons of God shouted for joy, when
God had here a perfect earth and a perfect heaven, there were
no demon spirits, there were no evil spirits, there were no
evil principalities and powers, there was no Satan, there was
no devil. you will find that the first
sin that entered into this holy universe came through one of
God's most magnificent creatures. His name was Lucifer. We believe
from the scriptures that he must have been the most beautiful
of all the angels and the most powerful. And it says in Isaiah
chapter 14, verse 12, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,
son of the morning?" That's what he's called, the son of the morning.
"...How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken
the nations?" What was his sin? Why did he fall? "...For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregations in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High."
This is the motto of pride, I will, my will, not God's will, not
his will, my will. I will be great, I will be powerful,
I will be above God, I will control, I will!" That was Satan's fall. Why? What was the fall of our
first parents? Go back to the Garden of Eden,
when God, Genesis 3, when God recreated this world. We believe
when Satan fell that The catastrophe occurred here on this earth where
he was in control, where he had the power, where he was the dominant
figure. Darkness came upon this earth.
It was without form and without void, and God recreated it. God
made it over again. God made the day and the night,
the stars, the sun, the moon, recreated this earth and put
on this earth two creatures in his own image, Adam and Eve.
What was their sin? It wasn't long before they fell.
What was their sin? Genesis 3, verse 5, Satan, Lucifer,
this fallen one, said to Eve, You shall not die. God knows,
verse 5, that in the day you eat, your eyes, your understanding
will be opened, and you'll be God. Well, that was his sin. I will not have this God to reign
over me. I'll be God. I'll do what I want
to do. Why, you'll be God's yourself,
knowing good and evil." And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, lust of the flesh, it was pleasant to the eyes,
lust of the eyes, and a tree desired to make her wise. Pride of life, wiser than God,
more powerful than God. She took of it and gave it to
her husband. brought sin into this world.
Pride led Cain to offer a sacrifice of works instead of a sacrifice
of blood. It resulted in murder and exile. Pride led Pharaoh to resist God. Who is God? He said that I should
obey his voice and drown his troops in the Red Sea. Pride
led David to number Israel. What a great nation. I have. What a powerful people. Call
me king. I think I'll find out just how
many I have. Maybe we've got more than the
Canaanites. Maybe we've got more than the
Philistines. I'm going to find out just how
many people I have." God said, David, don't number Israel. But
pride led David to number Israel and resulted in the death of
some of his choice people. Pride led Absalom, the son of
David, the beautiful to establish his own kingdom. He sat by the
gate, and he stopped me in coming in to see his father, the king,
and said, The king doesn't have time for you. I have time for
you. The king is a busy man. Your
wish is my command. The king doesn't care about your
problems. I care about your problems. Let me solve your problems. I'm
the king's son. I'm the prince. I have the power.
Don't worry about the king, talk to me about your problem." And
doing that, he won the hearts of the people, and his pride
led to his awful death, hanging by his hair from a tree as the
sword pierced his heart. Pride led Nebuchadnezzar to boast
of Babylon, the city which he had built, and resulted in his
eating grass as an ox. Pride led Peter to boast, though
these other men forsake you, I never will. led Peter to say, Lord, I'll
follow you to the death. And his pride resulted in his
denial of his Lord. The more pride that is found
in the human heart, the less grace will enter there. The more pride wherever that
pride may be, whatever it may be, the less grace will enter
that. God rejected, resisted the proud. He gives grace to the humble.
Turn to Philippians 4. Here's a scripture that I looked
at, oh, I looked at again and again and again yesterday. Philippians
chapter 4. Listen to Paul here. Philippians
4. Do we know anything about this?
I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to me. and you listen in. Do I know anything about this?
Paul said, Philippians 4, not that I speak in respect of what,
I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." I know both how to be abased,
humiliated, persecuted, put down. I know both how to be abased
and how to abound. Everywhere and in all things
I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. We know how to abound, don't
we? Do we know how to be abased? We know how to be full, but do
we know how to be hungry? We know how to succeed, but do
we know how to fail for God's glory? We're studying to be great. That's what the apostles wanted.
Look at Luke chapter 22. We're studying to be great. We
want to be great in the kingdom of God. We want to be recognized
in the kingdom of God. We want to be somebody in the
kingdom of God. We want to be important in the
kingdom of God. We want to have a word to say.
We want men to look up to us, recognize us, honor us, admit
what we know and what we can do. Our talents, our abilities,
our gifts, don't they see my gifts? Can't they recognize my
knowledge? In Luke 22, look at verse 24. And there was also a strife among
them, among the disciples, which of them should be accounted the
greatest? And he said to them, now listen
to this carefully, the kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship
over them. and they that exercise authority
upon them are called benefactors. But you shall not be so. He that is greatest among you,
let him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that doth
serve. For whether it is greater he
that sitteth at me, or he that serveth, is not he that sitteth
at me, But I am among you as he that serveth. He that's greatest among you
shall be what? Your servant." We're studying
to be great. Have we ever learned to be small? We're arguing about who's the
greatest among us. We ought to be discussing who
is the most insignificant. But Christ said he's the greatest.
We're studying to lead. Have we learned to follow? We're
studying to be wise. Have we become fools for Christ's
sake? We're studying to rule. Have
we ever learned to serve? We're studying to be full. Have
we ever learned to be empty? We know how to abound. We know
how to abound, but can we say, I know also how to be abased,
and to be abased for God's glory, and to be hungry for God's glory,
and to be empty for God's glory, and to suffer need for God's
glory, and to be nobody for God's glory. Turn to 1 Corinthians
4. Paul deals with that over here.
1 Corinthians 4. I know how to abound I know how
to win. I know how to succeed gracefully. I know how to take men's applause
gracefully. But can I take their criticism
gracefully? Can I take their rebuke gracefully? Can I fail gracefully? All for
the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 4, look if you
will at verse 8. You're full. You're rich. You've
reigned as kings without us, speaking of the apostles, the
us there. I would to God you did reign,
that we also might reign with you. For I think that God has
set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death.
We're made a spectacle unto the world, to angels and to men.
We're fools for Christ's sake, but you're wise. You're wise. That's the ministry today. We're
wise men, intelligent men. Paul said, we're fools, for Christ's
sake. We're weak, but you're strong. You're honorable, but
we're despised. For unto this present hour we both
hunger and thirst, and are naked and abuffeted, and have no certain
dwelling place. In labor, working with our own
hands, being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we suffer.
Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the
world, and are the offscoring of all things unto this day.
I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons,
I warn you. I warn you. Let me ask three questions. What
is genuine humility? What is genuine humility? We
looked at pride. We've looked at the places where
it lives and thrives and rears up its ugly head. It's there.
We, everyone, have to face it and admit it. We know how to
abound, but we don't know how to be amazed. We know how to
be full, but we don't know how to be hungry. We know how to
succeed. We know how to be somebody, but
we don't know how to be nobody, and we'll never be somebody in
the kingdom of God till we're nobody. We know how to lead,
but we don't know how to follow. We know how to be wise, but we
don't know how to be a fool. And we'll never be great till
we learn to serve. We'll never be important till
we learn to wash feet. And I don't mean literally. That
doesn't prove a thing. I mean spiritually, in the heart,
down, down, down. When I get on the bottom, when
I can say I'm less than the least of all the saints, I can talk
about being a companion of him who was the greatest, for he
said that. When I can talk sincerely and honestly, and not doctrinally
and theologically, but truthfully, I am the chief of sinners, then I can I can claim to be
a companion of him who could save it." What is genuine humility? Several things. Number one, it
is truthfully thinking the worst of myself, truthfully, and the
best of others. Paul said in Philippians 2, 3,
let me read it to you, "...let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem the other
Better than themselves. Better. Better. Genuine humility is in honestly
thinking the worst of myself and the best of others. I am
the less, I am less than the least of all the saints. Paul said, I'm not worthy to
be an apostle. I do want you to turn to this
scripture, Numbers 11. Numbers chapter 11. I want you
to look at this carefully. I want to look at it carefully,
too. What is genuine humility? It is not envying. It is not
envying, but rejoicing. Somebody might say, well, I don't
envy another fellow's gifts and talents and prosperity and blessing. I know, but do you rejoice in
it? Genuine humility is being able not to envy his gifts and
talents and prosperity and blessings, but actually to rejoice in it. Being able to, when I'm cold,
rejoice that he's warm. When I'm hungry, to rejoice that
he's full. When I fail, to actually rejoice
that he succeeded. That's humility. Listen to Moses
here. In Numbers, chapter 11, verse 27, and there ran a young
man and told Moses and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in
the camp. Moses, you're the preacher. Joshua,
the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of the young men answered
and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them. Moses said to him, Envious
thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's
people were prophets. and that the Lord would put his
Spirit upon all his people. Moses didn't envy the gifts of
Eldad and Medad, he rejoiced in them. John the Baptist said, he must
increase, I must decrease. What is humility? Thirdly, it
is ascribing all that I am and all that I have to the grace
of God. Now God has chosen He said, the
foolish to bring to naught the wise. God had chosen the base
to set at naught those that are important, beautiful, the things
that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no
flesh should glory in his presence. Paul said, by the grace of God
I am what I am, I have what I have. Every bit of it is the grace
of God. What do you have that you did
not receive? Who maketh thee to differ? humility is to recognize
that by the grace of God I am what I am. We learned when I was a kid in
high school a poem everybody thought was so great, Invictus,
is that the name of it? Sunset and evening star and one
clear call for me and may there be no morning of the bar when
I put out to sea. under the bludgeoning of chance.
I have not winced nor crowed aloud under something else. My head is bloody but unbowed.
I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul." Isn't
that beautiful? That's rotten with pride, it
reeks with pride, it stinks with pride. It's an abomination to
God. I am what I am, Paul said, by
the grace of God. The grace of God. What is humility? It is disclaiming any personal
righteousness. Boy, this is an area where we
better walk softly and we better learn something about it. Paul said, "...in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing." Nothing. Isaiah said, we all do fade as
the leaf, from the sole of our feet to the top of our head.
There's no soundness in us, nothing but open running sores that have
not been bound up, neither mollified with ointment. We all do fade
as the leaf. Our beauty is like a tree that's
dying in the winter. Our righteousness is our filthy
rags. There's no personal righteousness
or holiness in any of us. Our holiness is Christ. Turn
with me to Proverbs 9. What is genuine humility? Proverbs
9. Now listen carefully to this.
This goes for preacher and people. This goes for leader of the church. This goes for those who are not.
In Proverbs 9, genuine humility is being able to receive instruction. and rebuke for the glory of God. Now watch this, Proverbs 9, verse
8. Reprove not a scorner, lest he
hate thee. Rebuke a wise man, and he'll
love thee. Give instruction to a wise man,
and he'll be yet wiser. Teach a just man, and he will
increase in learning. And then let me read you a word
from David over here in Psalm 141 verse 5. Let the righteous
smite me. It'll be a kindness. Let him
reprove me. It'll be excellent oil, which
shall not break my head, for yet my prayer also shall be in
their calamities. Let the righteous smite me. it'll
be a kindness, let him rebuke me. And it'll be like the oil
that fell down upon Aaron's beard. Yes, humility is a willingness
to be rebuked. And it's a willingness to receive
instruction. And it's a willingness to be
smitten. And then genuine humility is a willingness to confess our
sins and forsake them The prodigal son out there said, I will arise
and go to my father, and I will say, Father, I have sinned. I have sinned, and I'm not worthy
to be called thy son. Just make me a hired servant.
I've done wrong, and I'm not worthy to be a son. But I'll
be glad, I'd rather be a servant in your house than to dwell out
there in the temples of the wicked. Just let me be a servant, for
I have sinned. He that hideth his sins shall
not prosper, shall not prosper. But whoso confesseth and forsaketh
his sins shall find mercy. proves humility is a willingness
to acknowledge, to confess my sins, I have sinned. We go on justifying ourselves,
making excuses for ourselves, go on in our pride of heart until
God finally destroys us. He that being often reproved
and hardeneth his neck shall certainly be destroyed, and that
without remedy. he that being often reproved,
and hardeneth his neck in pride, shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy." What is genuine humility? It's forgiving. Turn to Colossians 3, verse 12. Colossians 3, verse 12. Here
are the marks of the believer. Here's the clothing of the saint. Colossians 3, verse 12. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of holy and beloved, vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you." That's what humility is. It is
forgiving, it is forbearing and forgiving one another, putting
on a humble spirit, receiving a man in the mercy and in the
grace which Christ receives you. Now the second question briefly,
where does one get this humility? Well, not from nature, not from
nature. Paul wrote over in 2 Timothy
chapter 3, he said in the latter days, men shall be lovers of
their own selves, boasters, proud. Our beauty, our beauty is a fading
beauty. Our wisdom, the Scripture says,
is foolishness. Our goodness is filthy rags. This humility doesn't come from
nature. We're born proud, but not humble. Where does it come from? Well,
I think it comes from four sources, and this, briefly, I'll give
you and move right along. First of all, genuine humility. It comes from a true sight and
sense of seeing. Paul said, I never would have
known seeing had not I had the law revealed to me by the Holy
Spirit. What seeing is. Seeing is not
just an action, it's an attitude. Seeing is not just a deed, it's
a motive. Sin is not just an outward act,
an outward violation, it is an inward principle. I not only
have sinned, I am sinned. I have sins because I'm a sinner. My nature is evil, my heart is
wicked, my soul is fallen. And a person gets some kind of
conception of humility when he gets some kind of idea and conception
of what sin is. There isn't one person out of
a hundred who knows what sin is. He knows the byproducts of
sin. He knows the fruit of sin. He
knows the effects of sin. He knows the results of sin.
He knows all these things, but he doesn't know what sin is. And the reason I say that is
because before man was ever created, Before any kind of illicit or
wrong relationship ever existed between men to hate one another
and to kill one another, sin existed. Before any relationship
between the male and female existed, sin existed. Before alcohol was
ever invented, sin existed. Before a gun was ever invented,
an instrument of murder or a knife, sin existed. before there was ever a court
in which to commit perjury. Sin existed. What is sin? Sin is an opposition to, a principle
of opposition to God's will. That's what sin is, and it's
in every human being. It's the very nature of man.
We are, our minds, our souls are enmity against God, and all
these other things come as a result of that principle. of that nature,
of that wickedness that is in us by imputation and impartation. We do these things because we're
sinners. A man who steals is not a thief
because he takes something, he takes it because he's already
a thief, or he never would have taken it. And we'll never be humble till
we realize what sin is. Do we realize it's a problem
we have, it's a nature we have, it's a condition in which we
are by birth and by choice? And then secondly, humility comes
from a true sense and sight of sin, and secondly, from a true
sight of the glory of God and the holiness of God. That's when
Isaiah was humbled. Isaiah in chapter 5 kept talking
about, woe is you, woe is you, woe is you. He said, when I saw
the Lord, I said, oh, woe is me. Job defended his righteousness,
his integrity, his truthfulness, until he saw the Lord. And when
he saw God in His glory, he said, I hate myself. Daniel said, when
I saw the Lord, my beauty melted into corruption. Turn to Revelation
chapter 1. This is important here, Revelation
chapter 1. A true humility, a genuine humility,
will only come as we're taught what sin is. And I'm saying that
the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, he said himself, I didn't know
sin. I was blameless where the law
was concerned. I didn't know what sin was. He
was a religionist. He was a teacher of the Scripture.
He was a preacher. He was an official in the tabernacle,
in the synagogue. He was a student of the Bible.
He was a clean, moral man. He said, I didn't know what sin
was. Well, Paul, you knew it was wrong
to kill, didn't you? Paul knew that, but you didn't
know what sin was. Well, you knew it was wrong to lie, didn't
you? Yeah, you knew that, but you didn't know what sin was.
Well, you knew it was wrong to take God's name in vain, didn't
you? He knew that. And that's what you know. And
that's what most of these religionists in Iceland know, but they don't
know what sin is. That's the only reason a man can say that
I've been baptized with the Holy Ghost and I'm living above sin.
The only way he can say that is because he doesn't have the
faintest conception of what sin is. That's what Paul said before
God saved him. He said, considering the law,
I'm blameless. That's the only way in the world
a man can say he doesn't have the faintest idea of what it
is. And he'll never be broken, he'll never be humble, he'll
continue to... You know why religious people
are so critical of others? They don't know what sin is.
You know why they have such a gossipy attitude? They don't know what
sin is. You know why they're so quick to judge others? They're
not sinners. The Pharisee says, we be not
sinners. And they've never seen the holiness
of God. When a man sees the holiness
of God, he'll be broken. It comes from a true sight of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Revelation 1, quickly.
Revelation 1, 12. And I turned to see the voice
that spake to me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one likened to
the Son of Man. Oh, he describes him here, his
hair, his eyes, his feet. And then he said, verse 17, look
at it, And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead." People tell me when they saw
a vision of the Lord, they jumped up and whooped and threw a songbook
and shouted and dashed across the church. John said, when I
saw him, I fell at his feet dead. All exceeding sinfulness of sin. When we get a glimpse of God's
glory, when we get a glimpse of His holiness, when we get
a glimpse of His majesty, you know what it'll do? It'll take
the words out of your mouth, the strength out of your legs,
it'll strip you naked of all your self-righteous garments,
it'll drop your fig leaf down to your ankle, and you'll fall
in the dust and cry, God be merciful to me, the sinner, the chief
of sinners. Job 15. I'll tell you where one
gets humility. He gets a right sense and knowledge
of what sin is, and the fact that he's a great sinner. And
then he gets a sight of the glory and holiness of God. What is
man that thou should be mindful of him? And then he gets a sight
of the Lord Jesus Christ in his glory, in his beauty. And then
he gets a true sight of the absolute insufficiency of man to justify
himself in the sight of God. And that gives him humility.
He sees that his works, his deeds, and his religion will not recommend
him to God. In Job 15, verse 14, look. What is man that he should be
clean? He that is born of woman, that he should be righteous.
God puts no trust in his saints. The heavens are not clean in
his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man that drinks iniquity like the water. Look, if you
will, at Job 25, and this question, this question, we'd better learn
the answer to this question. It ought to roll over and over
and over again in our minds. In Job 25, verse 4, how then
can man be justified with God? Well, wait till he can quit drinking
and carousing and join the church and do better. Can he now? Well,
he can walk down the aisle and shake the preacher's hand and
say that he believes Christ died on the cross. Can he not? Will
that justify him in God's eyes? Well, he can start treating his
neighbor right and living right and doing the best he can. Will
that justify him before God? You know what justification is? That means all sin is put away.
That means the justice of God is satisfied. That means the
righteousness of God is honored. That means the law of God is
obeyed. That means a man has a perfect record in heaven's
glories in the sight of a holy God who can see the slightest
offense. Job didn't think so. How can man be just with God?
How can he be clean, this born of woman? The moon does not shine
in God's presence and the stars are not pure in his sight. How
much less man that is a worm. I'll tell you how a man can be
justified in God's sight. It's for somebody to come down
here and take his place and obey the law for him. That's what
Christ did. He satisfied God's righteousness
and go to the cross as his representative and bear God's wrath and God's
anger for his sins and put them away and go up out of the right
hand of God and intercede for us and plead for us and be our
high priest and be our That's how a man can be justified. But
boy, you talk about humbling a fellow when he finds out that
in his flesh dwelleth no good thing, in the flesh no man can
please God, that God demands faith and he doesn't have it.
God demands perfection and he can't produce it. And it breaks
him and he looks to Christ and he says, Lord, be my redeemer,
be my propitiation, be merciful unto me. Well, the beauty of
humility, and I close, this is the third thing. Peter says it's
pleasing to God. Matthew says it will make a man
more like Christ. Peter says it's the saint's clothing.
Mark says it's of great importance in prayer. Proverbs says it's the way to
honor. Turn to Proverbs 18. I want you to look at one verse
of Scripture here. Proverbs 18, verse 12. I want
you to look at this verse and underscore it. Proverbs 18, 12. Before destruction the heart
of man is haughty. Before destruction is haughtiness. Now what's the next line? Before
honor, humility. Now which way are we going? Are
we going the path of destruction? Before that, just remain in this
haughty spirit, in this haughty attitude, destruction. Before
honor, humility. Our Father, bless the Word. Bless
the message to my heart. May I be broken and humble in
thy sight, in thy presence.

Pride - The Father of All Sin

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Pride - The Father of All Sin

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