Digging Deeper Day 7

Revival Calendar Day Seven
Digging Deeper

Barrier: Pride

Breakthrough: Humility

If the pursuit of God has become your life’s purpose, if seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness is your journey, if Christ-likeness is your ultimate goal, then you must know your enemy. Of course, your ultimate enemy is Satan, but in human form and character public enemy number one is “pride.”

Pride opposes everything that is godly. It is the seed of every other sin. Pride is the “Founding Father” of all sin. Think about it. What caused Satan’s fall in the first place? “You said in your heart, I will ascend to the heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of the assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14) I don’t think so.

Go back to the garden. What did Satan tempt the woman with? “You will not surely die, For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:2-3) Looks and smells like pride to me. “You will be like God.” Yes, our goal is to be like God. Godliness, Christ-likeness is our pursuit. That is not what the serpent is saying to the woman. He is saying you will be like God. You will know what God knows, you will be a god. It is the same spirit that put him on earth in the first place: “I will make myself like the Most High.”

Pride: “Showing one’s self above others; preeminent; haughty; with an overblown view of one’s means or merits.” At its core pride is idolatry. It is setting one’s self up as “the Most High.” It is public enemy number one and it is the root of all sin. Dig up pride and you will find God. Keep it and you will find yourself as God’s enemy.

Examples: Pride led to the Cain’s murder of Abel. Pride led the people of the world to build the tower of Babel. Pride caused the fall of Samson and Saul. Pride blinded David from reality and blossomed into lust and covetousness as he took Bathsheba. But it was his pride, his moment of “most highness” that caused it all.

You might think, well, I’m not proud. In fact, I have a low self-esteem. If you went to God’s computer and typed in KEYWORD: Self-Esteem. God’s computer would come back with this definition: “showing one’s self above others; preeminent; haughty; with an overblown view of one’s means or merits.” You may think: what is he talking about? How is that possible? I have an under blown view of myself, that is my problem. No the problem is the view “of yourself.” Any view of “yourself” is an overblown view. “Low Self-Esteem” is all about “me” just like “arrogance” is. In the eyes of heaven there is no difference. Both are looking at the reflection in the mirror. Both are placing their faith in the face in the mirror. The only thing heaven acknowledges is that heaven is not being acknowledged.

Pride says “I don’t need God” I’m self-sufficient. Pride also says “why would God want to use me?” “God can’t use me,” I’m just a “nobody.” It is all pride. Both have placed their faith in themselves. There is no difference between thinking you can do anything and thinking you can’t do anything. The present ingredient in both is self. The absent ingredient in both is God.

Examine our reading today: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”Notice the last statement. “You do not have because you do not ask God.” Why? First, there is a sense of self-sufficiency. Fights and quarrels have irrupted because the desires of the people are the goal. You have people who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Self-sufficiency causes them to think they can “fight, quarrel, kill, and covet to get what they want.” Unable to acquire their desires through effort they grab their bottles and summon the great “Genie.”

“3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” This is the worst form of pride: To think that the “Almighty God” will be tricked by our convenient piety. The belief that we can convince our Father in heaven to meet our selfish desires by deceiving him into believing this is for “His glory.” After all that is what this “pride thing” is all about: Glory. Who gets the glory? This isn’t about God at all. God will not be fooled. He knows our hearts. He will not share His glory with anyone. He doesn’t exist to be at our “beckon call.” We exist for His “beckon call.”

“4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?” “The world” is a term used to describe Satan’s realm. A life lived for self is a life lived for Satan. It is not friendship with God. A person can be a Christian and still befriend the world. (Jesus was a “friend of sinners.” Don’t let Satan change the subject. This is not talking about that. This is about the inner man.) The “spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely.” God will not share a throne with anyone. Our motives must become God’s motives. Our desires must become His. God will not feed our desires. There is the country song which says “sometimes God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Bad Theology! God answers all prayers. The song should say: “Sometimes God’s greatest gift is “NO!”

“6 But he gives us more grace.” That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." It is all about God. He gives more grace. We desperately need more grace. We exist, we succeed not because of our ability but His. Also focusing on our “low self-esteem” is a false humility. It is pride. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” That’s where I want to be.

The word “pride” was defined earlier, what about the word “humble?” Listen to this meaning from the Greek, it is awesome: “not rising far from the ground.” “God opposes the proud.” He opposes those who walk upright.

Imagine for a moment that “the purpose of life” is found in a can on the highest shelf in the kitchen. “Pride” says I can walk in the room and reach it myself. If I can’t reach it I will then construct something that will. If I can’t construct something that will then I will call on God to be my ladder and “I” will climb to my destination. “Pride” never descends to the ground, even when calling upon God.

The other side of “pride” walks into the room and reaches for the can of “purpose.” Not reaching it this “pride” might try to jump or construct something as well. Still not able to apprehend its “purpose” this “pride” calls on God in “humility.” Admits its weaknesses and shortcomings but nothing happens. This “pride” concludes that nothing can be done. “Purpose” cannot be obtained. “Woe is me.” Like “Pride” this “pride” never descends to the floor. This “pride” mistakes self- pity for humility. Self-pity (lower case pride) is no different than Self-sufficiency (UPPER CASE PRIDE). It is pride. It is self. It is upright and never descends to the ground.
Humility descends to the ground.

Humility like little “pride” recognizes purpose cannot be reached or obtained by human effort alone. Humility like big “Pride” asks God to help. Humility, however never rises from the ground. Humility knows that God is the subject. Humility knows that only “God’s grace” can reach the goal. To the ground he willingly bows and stays.” How does this humility process work?

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.” Do not surrender! Submit! Some have translated this as surrender. It is not surrender. It is submission. “To willingly place oneself under another.’ “Willingly” is the key word. Surrender does it when it is all out of options. When “Pride” realized it couldn’t reach the can of purpose it surrendered to God. Not willingly but because it was out of options. Out of options is not a good reason to come to God, unless of course, you willingly put yourself under the authority of God. Little “pride” just surrenders to insufficiency and self-pity.

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.” Put yourself willingly under God. In humility descend and stay there willingly. Oh, you will stumble, you will fall, pride will rear its head now and again but you are never rise far from the ground.

“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

The word “resist” means to stand against. Now that sounds inconsistent with humility but it is not. The way you “resist the devil” is by refusing to rise. Let the Lord fight the battle. “Come near to God.” The closest we will ever get to God is not in a rocket or a space ship. It is on the ground. The devil wants us to look up. He wants us to stand up but we have submitted. We have drawn near to God. We have washed our hands, we have confessed our sins, God has purified our hearts. We have humbled ourselves before the Lord. The devil has no choice but to “flee.” “Run.” “Shoo.”

Oh, he tries to come back and remind us of our past. Accuse us of what we’ve already confessed to be true. Stay down. Never rise far from the ground. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” “He will lift you up.” He will lift you up, up, up to the top shelf. “Look, guys I found my purpose.”

Prayer: God, I submit myself to you. You are God and I am not. You are sufficient and I am not. You are Lord and I am not. You are King and I am not. Lord, I humble myself in your mighty Presence. I give myself to You. I want to be near you. I want to resist the devil. I bring you my sins, wash me Lord. I bring you my heart, purify it Lord. Father, forgive me for thinking too highly of myself. Remove all pride and false humility from me. Forgive me for trying to fulfill my own selfish desires. Forgive me for focusing on my own ability and inability. Father, I humbly bow down and submit to you as My Only God. I do this willingly. Take me Lord! In the name of Jesus Christ, my Purpose, Amen