BAITS OF SATAN – PRIDE

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Text: Prov.16:18-19

INTRODUCTION

The Encarta and Oxford Talking Dictionaries define Pride thus:

1. Satisfaction with self: the happy satisfied feeling somebody experiences when having or achieving something special that other people admire • took great pride in his work
2. Proper sense of own value: the correct level of respect for the importance and value of your personal character, life, efforts, or achievements • Defeat didn’t damage her pride.
3. Source of personal satisfaction: something such as an achievement or possession that somebody feels especially pleased and satisfied with • His grandchildren were his pride and joy.
4. The quality of having an excessively high opinion of one’s own worth or importance; inordinate self-esteem. Arrogant or overbearing conduct,
demeanour, etc., arrogance, haughtiness. Feeling of superiority: a haughty attitude shown by somebody who believes, often unjustifiably, that he or she is better than others
MANIFESTATION OF PRIDE
Self Centeredness … I, Me, Myself, Mine. e.t.c
Lucifer –Isa.14:12-15
The rich farmer – Lu.12:16-20
Over Confidence
Pharaoh – Exo.5:2
Belshazzar – Dan.5:17-23
Boastful
Hezekiah – 2Chro.32:25-27,31
Nebuchadnezzar – Dan.4:30-34

Unsubmissive
King Saul – 1Sam.15:16-31
Looking down on other
Naaman – 2 kings 5:9-12
WHAT PRIDE DOES TO MAN
Deceives the heart – Jer.49:16
Hardens the heart – Prov.16:18, Dan.5:20
Brings contention & Strife – Prov.13:10,28:25
Destroys men
It is an abomination and detestable before God. –Prov.6:17;16:5

A CASE STUDY
King Uzziah 2Chro.26:1-7,15-21
King Uzzaih before he became proud, had the following going for him:
v6-8 – A very strong foreign policy
v 9-10 – A very stable and prosperous domestic economy
v11-15 – A very strong peace time army
His descent into pride steps:
V5 – He started well i.e was on the right note with God.
V 15 – He became strong i.e reward for his faith in God, hard word – a team builder and team player.
V 15 – His fame spread far and wide. Success brought him fame, praise and acclamation.
V 16 – His heart was lifted up i.e the praise got to him.
V 16-18 He disregarded his limitation as a king before God … he wanted to burn incense in the temple.
V 19 – Anger at correction. He could not accept any other view against his own. He felt he could do it and get away with it.
V 20 – Leprosy broke out on his fore head – Leprosy attacks nerve endings causing insensitivity on the extremities
V 21 – He was cut off. Could not fulfill destiny. He remained king, but in a lepers’ colony. His son became the regent.

WHY DOES GOD RESIST THE PROUD?
Pride frustrates the grace of God.
Pride corrupts God’s gifts e.g Lucifer, Uzziah i.e men tend to abuse power because of pride
Pride refuses God’s guidance i.e proud people tend to follow their ways and or devises.
Pride resist the goals of God
Pride steals God’s glory

WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO BE PROUD OF:-
Read Jer.9:23-24
Man glories in – Wisdom, might and riches
God glories in – Kindness, justice and righteousness.
God desires that we glory in:
The knowledge of Him
His word

CONCLUSION
1 Cor 1:26-31
26 Glory Only in the Lord
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
NKJV

Self Centeredness … I, Me, Myself, Mine. e.t.c
Lucifer –Isa.14:12-15
The rich farmer – Lu.12:16-20

Isa 14:12-15
12 The Fall of Lucifer
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Luke 12:16-21
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul,”Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”‘ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

Over Confidence
Pharaoh – Exo.5:2
Belshazzar – Dan.5:17

Ex 5:2
2 And Pharaoh said,”Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.”
Dan 5:17-24
17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. 21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Boastful
Hezekiah – 2Chro.32:25-27,31
Nebuchadnezzar – Dan.4:30-34

2 Chro. 32:25-31
25 But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
27 Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor (2 Kings 20:12-21; Isa 39:1)
Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; 31 However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.
Dan 4:30-34
30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
31 While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! 32 And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”
33 That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
34 Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
Unsubmissive
King Saul – 1Sam.15:16-31

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
And he said to him, “Speak on.”
17 So Samuel said,”When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
20 And Saul said to Samuel,”But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”
22 So Samuel said:”Has 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 heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.”
26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him,”The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

Looking down on other
Naaman – 2 kings 5:9-12
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

Apostle (DR.) Udoh
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