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"We have hearts that would murder the Messiah, and to think anything different is to flatter ourselves in the same way these scribes and Pharisees did. The old Negro spiritual asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” And the answer is, “Yes, we were there.” Not as spectators, but as participants, guilty participants, plotting, scheming, betraying, bargaining, and handing Him over to be crucified.
John Stott said, “Until you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will never appreciate that it is done for you."
The great Scottish hymn writer Horatius Bonar wrote:
“Twas I that shed the sacred blood; I nailed him to the tree; I crucified the Christ of God; I joined the mockery. Of all that shouting multitude, I feel that I am one; And in that din of voices rude I recognize my own. Around the cross the throng I see, Mocking the Sufferer’s groan; Yet still my voice it seems to be, As if I mocked alone.” - DP
I was told once, pride is one of these three things.
Trusting in your own strength
Trusting in your own righteousness
Trusting in your own wisdom
For 30 chapters Job trusts in his own righteousness,
32:1-2
So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.
33:8-9
“Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
Then in chapter 38, God just nails him. Leading to...
Conclusion
Job 40:8-14 MSG
“Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint? Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do. Unleash your outrage. Target the arrogant and lay them flat. Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees. Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them! Dig a mass grave and dump them in it— faceless corpses in an unmarked grave. I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you— you can surely save yourself with no help from me!
We need God because we are powerless, amen!
But we already knew this, if you didn't then you should be scared.
Matthew 23, breaks my heart and puts fear into my heart.
So let me ask, how many times have you read something and thought I could do better?
How often do you do something so people will say look?
Are we content with the approval of God or do we desire the applause of men?
Do we assert our superiority over others (and in the process usurp Christ’s superiority over all)?
Read,
Does your heart delight in receiving honor over other people? Do you find some weird sort of comfort whenever you realize that you are in a better, or even higher, position than someone else? Are you prone to, even in your own mind, exalt yourself above others? Do you compare yourself with other people, even subconsciously measuring yourself against them to discern your own level of spirituality?
This is what C.S. Lewis talked about in his powerful chapter on “Pride” in Mere Christianity. He calls pride, or self-conceit, “the great sin.” Lewis said: “If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed … If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud.”
And then listen to how he links pride with competition:
“Now what you want to get clear is that pride is essentially competitive—is competitive by its very nature…. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If every one else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.” -DP
The fact is pride is woven into are hearts. It's something so immoral, some say it's at the base of all sin. We all put ourselves before others on some level, and I thought okay OUT WITH THE PRIDE! Like spring cleaning, so who do I know that is without pride. Holy spirit slams in my face, Jesus! And it hit me like a train! Jesus was without pride, we was perfection! Last night I was freshly humble and knew the term humility, because I have pride.
So my question, do you?
John Stott said, “Until you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will never appreciate that it is done for you."
The great Scottish hymn writer Horatius Bonar wrote:
“Twas I that shed the sacred blood; I nailed him to the tree; I crucified the Christ of God; I joined the mockery. Of all that shouting multitude, I feel that I am one; And in that din of voices rude I recognize my own. Around the cross the throng I see, Mocking the Sufferer’s groan; Yet still my voice it seems to be, As if I mocked alone.” - DP
I was told once, pride is one of these three things.
Trusting in your own strength
Trusting in your own righteousness
Trusting in your own wisdom
For 30 chapters Job trusts in his own righteousness,
32:1-2
So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.
33:8-9
“Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
Then in chapter 38, God just nails him. Leading to...
Conclusion
Job 40:8-14 MSG
“Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint? Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do. Unleash your outrage. Target the arrogant and lay them flat. Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees. Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them! Dig a mass grave and dump them in it— faceless corpses in an unmarked grave. I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you— you can surely save yourself with no help from me!
We need God because we are powerless, amen!
But we already knew this, if you didn't then you should be scared.
Matthew 23, breaks my heart and puts fear into my heart.
So let me ask, how many times have you read something and thought I could do better?
How often do you do something so people will say look?
Are we content with the approval of God or do we desire the applause of men?
Do we assert our superiority over others (and in the process usurp Christ’s superiority over all)?
Read,
Does your heart delight in receiving honor over other people? Do you find some weird sort of comfort whenever you realize that you are in a better, or even higher, position than someone else? Are you prone to, even in your own mind, exalt yourself above others? Do you compare yourself with other people, even subconsciously measuring yourself against them to discern your own level of spirituality?
This is what C.S. Lewis talked about in his powerful chapter on “Pride” in Mere Christianity. He calls pride, or self-conceit, “the great sin.” Lewis said: “If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed … If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud.”
And then listen to how he links pride with competition:
“Now what you want to get clear is that pride is essentially competitive—is competitive by its very nature…. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better-looking than others. If every one else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.” -DP
The fact is pride is woven into are hearts. It's something so immoral, some say it's at the base of all sin. We all put ourselves before others on some level, and I thought okay OUT WITH THE PRIDE! Like spring cleaning, so who do I know that is without pride. Holy spirit slams in my face, Jesus! And it hit me like a train! Jesus was without pride, we was perfection! Last night I was freshly humble and knew the term humility, because I have pride.
So my question, do you?
