Saturday, April 9, 2016

April 10, 2016

"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to deatheven death on a cross!" Philippians 2:8

If you have ever struggled with pride (and if you haven't it is nothing to be proud of) you know how insidious and ingrained it is within the human nature.

Sin originated from pride. The pride that led to the introduction of sin was a desire to "be like the Most High". Lucifer's haughty spirit decieived him into believing he could actually lift himself above God.

So, if you were going to unravel the power of pride how would you go about it? You would make an anti-pride decision. That's exactly what Jesus did! HE WAS GOD, but he humbled Himself to become a man! In the incarnation God pulled a 180 degree move against the essence of pride!

In this short yet profound verse you can find an effective anti-pride strategy. If you want to defeat the pride problem in your life here is a plan of attack. Here is the attitude for overcoming pride and the activity for destroying pride within the space of a sentence. You could say it is a death sentence within a sentence!

The attitude for defeating pride is obedience. Pride rebels against authority and refuses to yield to the demands of a Sovereign God. The notion that you can sin without any consequences is a powerful deception that is fueled purely by pride.

Lucifer's desire to escape God's authority and avoid accountability were fueled by his pride. If he could become like the "Most High" he could call the shots and no one could call him on it!

It was that same lie Lucifer sold to Adam and Eve in the Garden through the subtleties of a serpent and planted that corrupt notion in the human spirit for all of time. You inherited it so did I.

Answer this, "What would you do if you were sure you could get away with it?"

See what I mean?

No one ever sinned by being obedient to the Word of God or the Spirit of God. They never will!

Obedience delivers you from pride every time it's tried!

So, what is the activity that overcomes pride? It is dying to self and to sin.

"Aren't those the same?" you ask.

Not necessarily!

Sin is the desire to be like like God and to live independently from Him. We have already traced that.

Self can be right in its desires but wrong in its judgment. This distinction is made in this well-known Proverb:


So God became man to destroy the power of sin and the power of sin is pride! Jesus not only did it but He shows you how to do it! Employ the anti-pride strategy of obedience to God and death to self!

Give it a try unless you are too proud......