0005 Sermon: Pride Is The Deadliest of Sins

Our latest podcast episode dives deep into the concept of pride, exploring it as the deadliest of sins and its biblical implications. We analyze the historical versus modern views of pride, share relevant scriptures, and discuss how gratitude and humility can protect us from its dangers.

• Examination of pride's historical definitions versus modern interpretations 
• C.S. Lewis's perspective on pride as an anti-God state of mind 
• Biblical verses highlighting God’s disdain for pride 
• Consequences of pride and its impact on relationships 
• Practical strategies to cultivate humility and gratitude 
• Reflecting on biblical stories as warnings against pride 
• Invitation to embrace communion as a symbol of humility 

Our call to action is to reflect on our own attitudes toward pride and seek to cultivate a heart of gratitude in all things.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Sunday Service and Church Community Update
• 11:04 Examining Pride
• 16:19 Warning Against Pride and Arrogance
• 30:55 Guard Against Pride and Arrogance
• 43:42 A Prayer for Humility and Peace

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:39

Happy Lord's Day to you and thank you for tuning in and joining us for this Lord's Day and this Sunday service. We did things a little different this morning. For the first time. One, we're back in our 11 am hour, which has been a year or so since we were at that time, and we started worship at 1030 Eastern time. I think if I was going to tweak that, I would do it at 1045. 1045, 30 minutes of worship and then dive into the message. But if people don't want to, you know, sing with us online or watch the music, we'll just cut out the Zoom room and we'll just do what we've been doing and the worship will just be for here.

Speaker 1: 1:31

But, adrian, you weren't there. Troy, you weren't there. Lindsay, you weren't there. I'm just going to start with those ones. Can you tell them it's resolved in that chat. So I was blowing up all my software companies on Sunday morning saying, hey, none of your software is working now, so, anyways. So I know you guys weren't there at time, so you can route the speakers, lauren. Lauren, if you go to the right screen over there and you click on speakers in the bar and put it to Rodecaster Pro, you won't hear anything.

Speaker 2: 2:16

Okay.

Speaker 1: 2:19

So, anyways, that is the background on this. But I'll tell you, having a prolonged worship this morning just put me in a very positive mindset. But if you do want to worship with us and you do want to be a part of this, we, you know, we don't have. We're a small, I mean, we're a home church community, so I don't know how to play an instrument. Lauren refuses to sing. She just waved at me over there, so you know. So we don't have a band here or anything. So we just choose music with the words from YouTube and we broadcast that list on the screen and we all sing along here and clap and worship and do all that stuff and you can do that from your home church and so so, yeah, if that is something you want to do or if you just want, you know cause, in order to do that we have to navigate a whole bunch of different things, like with copyright issues. So we get to stream it to a Zoom room, not live stream it to the world, so it's private, so you guys are in there, and then when we go live, we broadcast it and we lose all the functionality of our restream software that we use, unless we go from like $100 to a month to $250 to $150 a month, which I'm not paying just to do that. So, anyways, welcome, happy Lord's Day to you. Welcome to Christ Forge Church, a home church, community, ministry and farm that forges Christian warriors for today's challenges.

Speaker 1: 3:54

Christ Forge Church stands as a training ground for discipleship and a forge for Christian warriors, uniting faith and purpose in every step of the journey. Our mission is to transform men, women and families into fearless Christian warriors through discipleship, biblical truth and hands-on training. We are building a fellowship of believers united unto Christ, living out a biblical worldview and advancing His kingdom with strength and purpose. We are committed to forging men into biblically masculine leaders, protectors, providers and disciples who stand unshaken in the face of spiritual and worldly challenges. Likewise, we train women as Christ-centered shieldmaidens, embracing biblical femininity while standing fast in faith and purpose, fighting alongside their families. At Christ Forged Church, we prepare warriors for both spiritual and kinetic warfare, equipping them with the armor of God, the courage of faith and the skills to prevail. Through fellowship, the refining fire of God's word and the bonds of united brotherhood, we are creating a godly, loving and resilient community, forged to stand boldly for Christ. Advancing is truth and love in every battle and every season of life.

Speaker 1: 5:15

Announcements. As you guys just heard me say, christ Forged Church Service starts at 1045, not 1030, in our Zoom room, personal and in person, and the sermon starts at 1115 on all social media platforms. We were late today because of technical challenges. We are hosting the service in person and online in a Zoom meeting where we all stream. The password is 777. Okay, so that's how you get in there. After worship we will have a separate mother's room where Lauren and the other moms can bring younger kids watch sermon on TV and enjoy kids' appropriate Bible activities. Lauren and my mom, barbara, will be helping people park and welcome you to the home church. If you're coming in for the first time, if you are, reach out to us, let us know you're coming Again.

Speaker 1: 6:03

This is a home church. This is our two-car garage that we made look really fancy. I mean, it looks this way all the way through. It's not like this is a set or anything, and we have the most comfortable chairs of any church you'll ever be in. We've got like recliner, recliner, rolling office chair. You know some really cool like log chair and not your typical setting here.

Speaker 1: 6:33

Okay, so Christ Forge Locking Shields has launched. If you guys saw, on Friday our old Christian Warrior Talk format is back, but under Christ Ford's locking shields start, and that was, uh, at 9 pm on all social media channels. This is a fellowship show where we discuss all things christian life prepping, homesteading, tactics and new stories that affect us all. It's it's also an accountability group, um, and where we'll be doing the 90 day crucible challenge starting tomorrow. Tomorrow, okay, filming. We will be filming a welcome video to show people what to expect. Crucible Challenge starting tomorrow, tomorrow, okay, filming. We will be filming a welcome video to show people what to expect when they come to our home church. So be on the lookout for some social media posts that will appear in the welcome video. We will also be filming a video about what makes us, christ Forged Church, different, including the farming ministry. If you haven't guessed, we need musicians and we need volunteers for everything. So if you have a heart for ministry and you want to do that with us and join us, we'd love to have you. So let's go ahead and let's go to work.

Speaker 1: 7:34

Heavenly Father, lord, we thank you for this Lord Sunday. We thank you for your body, the body of believers, that is connected through this amazing technology that goes throughout the world. Lord, we pray that this message will reach someone and touch someone, and that it will glorify you. Lord, we thank you for the countless blessings in our lives, all the trillions of cells and body parts and organs and systems that had to work perfectly for even us to be here today. And when you take that and you multiply it by everyone who loved, who still loves with us, the number is insurmountable. Thank you for all your protections, thank you for your common grace and your creation that we all get to enjoy the stars, the sun, the moon, this earth with its mountains to its oceans and everything in between, all the animals and vegetation. Lord, we thank you for it all. We thank you for your sunrise, your sunset. We thank you for the sound of children laughing and birds singing in the morning Not roosters, though, never roosters, lord. We thank you for the smell of fresh rain in the morning and good cooking. We thank you for the taste of good cooking and good drink. We thank you for a warm fire on a cold day, like we've been enjoying here in a cool breeze on a hot day. Lord, may this service glorify you and only you serve you and only you. May it please you. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.

Speaker 1: 9:16

Now, that's just how I like to pray. Right, and I know a lot of you guys will be new to Christianity and new to this whole praying thing. So if you want to pray, I recommend you get on your knees when you're doing it and you're conversing with God by yourself. And you can pray anywhere anytime. But I find my most effective prayer is on my knee, with the pain of my knee surgery, just my knee replacement just focuses me and changes everything and it's a sign to the universe that you're in submission to the Lord. No one can see you kneeling praying and not know what you're doing, sitting at your desk or sitting somewhere else or lying in bed. People don't know what you're doing. But on your knees praying is very, very obvious. But you don't have to do it like I did. You can do it as simple as a child, okay, and a child's prayer, with their faith, shakes the foundations of the world.

Speaker 1: 10:13

So again, just don't have to use fancy words, you don't have to know all the terminology, just come with a pure heart, longing in humbleness and repentance to him, you know, to our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. Now, god gave us a manual. Jesus gave us a manual on how to pray in Matthew 6, 9 through 13. If you want a more formal version one our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts. We forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen. So now let's get into our sermon, and our sermon is Pride, the Deadliest of Sins. Pride, the deadliest of sins.

Speaker 1: 11:04

Anytime I'm preparing for a sermon, particularly when it's upon a topic or a single word like pride, I go back to the 1828 Webster's Dictionary and I look at how they used to define this before the world went woke. And then I look at the modern version of it, and it allows me to contrast where we are as a society today to where we were just a few generations ago, when we were closer to God. So here is 1828 Webster's definition of pride Inordinate self-esteem, an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests in Lafayette's distance, reserve and often contempt for others. Example pride goes before the destruction. Proverbs 16, 18. I love my 1828 dictionary because it will always refer back to the Bible.

Speaker 1: 12:11

Two a noble self-esteem. A sense of honor or dignity that is sometimes used in a positive sense when referring to, or just an appropriate level of self-respect or dignity. Example he took pride in performing his duties faithfully. That's not a bad version of pride. Three generous elation of heart. A form of joy or satisfaction that arises from some accomplishment or possession. Example the pride of a soldier in his victories. Elevation loftiness in appearance or splendor, sometimes referring to the magnificent or grand Example the pride of life. 1 John 2.16. Audacity or insolence, boldness or arrogance that disregards others or proper boundaries. Example the pride of Pharaoh in defying God.

Speaker 1: 13:04

Now let's listen to the modern definition. We started with a warning as our primary definition and here we go with today's A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of close associates, or qualities or possessions that are widely admired. Example she felt pride in her daughter's accomplishments. A consciousness of one's own dignity or self-respect. He took pride in his honesty and integrity. Three confidence and self-acceptance related to one's identity, group affiliation, often tied to social and cultural movements. Example Pride Month is a celebration of diversity and inclusion. And then last, a group of lions in zoological usage, a pride of lions roams the savannah. So not one negative connotation of pride. So let's contrast these Modern definition largely positive, emphasizing self-worth.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Historical, primarily negative, highlighting sinful arrogance. Cultural usage, celebratory, often tied to identity movements, which, of course, I can't remember how many hundreds or gay pride, lgbtq events we have in the calendar, but we've got plenty. Versus historical, moral warning against overestimating oneself. Biblical perspective today, often divorced from theological implications, versus historical, deeply rooted in biblical principles and theology. Positive aspect a sense of dignity or self-respect. Historical, humility-driven self-respect or duty. Negative aspect modern, really highlighted in cultural discourse versus the central focus and danger of hubris and vanity.

Speaker 1: 14:57

Cs Lewis said pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind. Think of that, the anti-God state of mind. Now I know we're starting a new year and we're all really excited about that, so I wanted to start with the biggest sin, which is pride, which leads almost to all others, and that's why I chose pride. Cs Lewis pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind.

Speaker 1: 15:36

Let's look at verses on how God feels about pride. There are a multitude of verses that deal with pride and we're going to cover a lot of them today, or some of them today. Proverbs 8.13,. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance in the way of evil and perverted speech. I hate, okay, james 4.6, but he gives more grace. Therefore, it says God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Speaker 1: 16:19

Proverbs 16, 5,. Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Be assured he will not go unpunished. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of wicked, are sin. That's Proverbs 21.4. Psalm 131.1, or verse 1. Oh Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. Humility, james. Humble yourself before the Lord and he will exalt you.

Speaker 1: 16:58

So, as you see, in the first part of these, god was warning to not be arrogant, to not be total of pride.

Speaker 1: 17:08

And I think about the current battles going on within, particularly the reform community online, and I wonder how much of this could have been avoided without and how much is due to pride. And I just get on there and I watch the exchanges of men who I love and respect, men who I love and maybe not respect as much, going after each other in ways that it's almost like they're not even believers, and it breaks my heart, and I think pride has a lot to do with it. So, again, the warning is pride. There's a reason why we start, you know, we used to start a Bible study every day with a, you know, a prayer of humility and gratitude, thanks, getting humble and grateful, because that is the safeguard that we're going to talk about later, to avoiding pride, to talk about later, to avoiding pride, being humble is a good thing, and the Lord, as we said here in Psalm 1, o Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high, I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

Speaker 1: 18:38

You're not always looking for the greenest grass on the other side. You're not wondering why you're not a billionaire when you haven't earned it. For though, the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. He keeps them far away. 1 Corinthians 13, 4. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant. It is not arrogant. Proverbs 15, 25. The Lord tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow's boundaries Psalm 31, 23. Love the Lord, all of you, his saints. The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly replays the one who acts in pride.

Speaker 1: 19:25

Again, we're back to warnings Isaiah 66, 2. All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look. The proper relationship to God is one of awe and, yes, fear. We, in our current form of Christianity, gobbledygook that we have today, have made Jesus like Jesus, bro, you know, like he's a surfer coming off the beach and we're high-fiving him and all that stuff and not a part of the Trinity, god in the flesh, who paid the ultimate price for us, whom, through all things, were made. We treat God like Santa Claus and not like our Lord and Savior. Lord, you don't walk up to a Lord with disrespect and far too many in Christianity. Do you look at the music that we have? If you fear the Lord, you have no reason to fear anything else, for he made everything else. Job 41.34,. He sees everything that is high. He is king over all the sons of pride.

Speaker 1: 21:06

Then verse Corinthians 8.2,. If anyone imagines that he knows something he does not yet know, as he ought to know, just when you think you know everything, god will humble you and show you that you do not know everything. Only God knows everything. One of the things that I've been seeing online and I see in people all the time, particularly in the hustle culture you know I've got friends who are in the coaching space, the motivation space, and the hustle culture is so cringed to me because it tries to say that you are doing everything and instead it should be God. God gave you that body. God gave you the soul. God gave you the motivation. God gave you everything he has. It really is a broken way to think of things, because it's all about you, and many of these people boast.

Speaker 1: 22:05

1 Corinthians 4, 7 gives us a warning For he who sees anything different in you. What do you have that you did not receive? What do you have that God didn't give you? If, then, you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it, if God blessed you with it? Your good health, your good looks, your family, your children, your job, everything, your capacity to think of? How many people are born who don't have IQs or are crippled in some way with a disability? You were born with aptitude and you achieved. God gave you that. Luke 14, 11,. For anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, either in this life or the next. And he who humbles himself will be exalted. He who lives in humility and understands that God gave him everything, he will be exalted or she will be exalted. In 1 Corinthians 1-28-29,. God chooses what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing, things that are so that no human might boast in the presence of God. Again, it's God humbling us.

Speaker 2: 23:31

Who did he make in his image? Us? He gave us that.

Speaker 1: 23:54

What did he make? Lowly the insects, the bugs. He put them there. You didn't do it. Ephesians 2.8 and9. For by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not your own doing. It is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. You are incapable of getting to heaven without Jesus Christ coming, god humbling himself to become a babe in a manger, a stable the most humblest of places to be born, hunted his whole life, sinless, who served as a willing sacrifice to pay for your sin.

Speaker 1: 24:43

Without that, we're all doomed, all doomed. Jeremiah 9.23. Thus says the Lord Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches. Again, not having the proper relationship and the proper grounding with how you got it, do not put pride in these things. Put gratitude in its place. Not pride, but gratitude Right. My wife Lauren. I thank God for her continuously, that he put her in my life. He made her the way that he did. He made our past collide when they did, and I thank the Lord for it every day. What do you have that you did not receive? Oh sorry, I read that one already Luke 18, 9-14.

Speaker 1: 25:40

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all. That is great, but the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his own breast saying God, be merciful on me, a sinner. Which is closer to God, the man with the humble heart, understanding what he is? 2 Corinthians 10, 18. I hope I didn't beat up your microphone by doing that, for it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends Little kids moving about. When God commends you, then you'll know you made it.

Speaker 1: 27:01

James 1, 9-10. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation because, like a flower with a grass, they will pass away Again, getting the proper perspective of God. Flowers are pretty because God made them pretty and the grass is just grass because God made it. Thus, revelation 3.17. For you will say I am rich, I have prospered and I need nothing not realizing that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. We must understand the proper perspective to where we are. Now.

Speaker 1: 28:05

Some, the most holy men I know, are the most remorseful, humble people and they say the closer you get to Christ, the filthier you feel. People say the closer you get to Christ, the filthier you feel, because you see how good he is and you know your complete depravity. 1 Corinthians 10, 12. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. Take evaluation when you're at. Get humble, get grateful.

Speaker 1: 28:47

Now the consequences of pride. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. Revelation, 3.16.17,. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing not realizing that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. That's the more complete one, the part I said up there, 3.17. Understanding that God gave you all those things.

Speaker 1: 29:20

Psalm 101.5,. Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly, I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart, I will not endure. If you are an arrogant, prideful, boastful fool when you go before the Lord, I fear for you. It proves you do not know him. It proves that you only worship yourself and you're your own false idol and your eternity. I fear for it. One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. The more proud you are, the more entitled you become. And you think I deserve this. I deserve that. I deserve this. Why? Because I'm somebody. No, when you look at your black deeds of your life, you know what you deserve If you're honest with yourself.

Speaker 1: 30:20

Proverbs 26.12. Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than him. A fool depending on which translation you're talking about of a fool here doesn't know any better. A wise person should know where they stand, and if you're wise in your own eyes, you're an idiot and a fool in God's. The hard looks of a man shall be brought low and the lofty pride of man shall be humbled and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

Speaker 1: 31:06

In Isaiah 23, 9,. The Lord of hosts has purposed it to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth. All who are raised up by the world and honored, who are not of him, who are not of his body, who are self-aggrandizing, will be brought low. Isaiah 2.12,. The Lord of hosts has his day against all the proud, lofty, against all that is lifted up, which shall be brought low Again. Isaiah 13.12,. The Lord of hosts has his day against all the proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up which shall be brought low. And again, isaiah 13.11,. I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant and lay low, the pompous pride of their ruthlessness.

Speaker 1: 31:54

The warnings throughout the Bible, new and Old Testament, scream out to you be humble, be humble, be humble, be humble, be humble, be humble, be grateful, be grateful, be grateful, be grateful, be grateful. Now let's go to materialism. Verses on pride and possessions 1 John 2, 15-17. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride and possessions is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires. Whoever go, does the will of God by its forever. People who find their worth in their stuff, the car they drive, the purse they carry, the house they live in. Psalm 10, 3-4,.

Speaker 1: 32:55

For the wicked, boast of the desires of his soul and the one greedy from gain curses and renounces the Lord and the pride of his face. The wicked does not seek him. All his thoughts are there is no God, and that's why they live for the things of today, nothing ever brings them happiness. People who find happiness in stuff never find happiness in peace. Proverbs 16, 19,. It is better to be lowly in spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. And in the New Testament, 1 Timothy 6 through 17,. As for the rich in this New Testament, 1 Timothy 6-17,. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Speaker 1: 33:52

Now we're going to talk about thinking you're better than everyone else, which is something we all do. We're all guilty of this. We see somebody, depending on who you are and your stature, or where you are, you think you're better than Romans 12.3,. For, by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned In Romans 12, 16,. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, prideful, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. It's Paul talking there, thinking you're too good to hang out with someone.

Speaker 1: 34:45

So many churches now are just network centers for business and more business and more business and more business. And if you can't get something from someone, you don't associate with them because you're too busy trying to network in the church, the church realtor, the church, whatever church lender, the church insurance person. I have no problem with us supporting Christian businesses and we should be supporting our dollars with Christian businesses. In fact we don't do it enough. But if that's why you're in church, shame on you. God knows it.

Speaker 1: 35:33

Galatians 6.3,. Again, new Testament. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Back to Proverbs Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense. But a man of understanding remains silent. I know I've been going for a bit. We're almost done.

Speaker 1: 35:53

Philippians 2.3. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself. This Christian life is a life of service. If you think you're better than anyone else, how are you going to serve them? Jesus washed Judas's feet. Jesus served Judas, the man who betrayed him.

Speaker 1: 36:27

Proverbs 27,. Let another praise you, not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips. And then Psalm 101.5,. Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly, I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart. I will not endure A few more here.

Speaker 1: 36:50

Galatians 1.10,. For I am now seeking the approval of man or God. Am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Lastly, peter 5.5,. Likewise you are younger, be subject to the elders. Close yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and this is part of that Bible. You have middle-aged men who are not respecting their seniors, who have been doing this and have borne fruit for decades.

Speaker 1: 37:26

So let's look at examples of sin and pride in the Bible and how it worked out. Let's go back to Genesis 1. Eve, the very first sin in the Bible has its roots in pride. Satan told Eve, if she ate the forbidden fruit, she would be like God. She wanted that, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Her puffed up vision of herself and unwillingness to submit to God's authority was the cause of sin's destruction. The Tower of Babel, one of her first civilizations. The people tried to come together and build a tower reaching the heavens, so that when they make a name for ourselves, and God, of course, comes down and thwarts their plans and scrambles their languages and let them know who was really in control.

Speaker 1: 38:20

David and Bathsheba. Bathsheba was married to Uriah the Hittite, one of David's great men. He was such a good man by all accounts in the Bible, over and over. David's pride in not revealing his sin with Bathsheba drove him to have Uriah, her husband, killed, and not even killed, killed in the worst way, by having his men retreat and leaving him in battle. This led to many consequences, ultimately the death of their child, ananias and Sapphira.

Speaker 1: 38:57

They were so desirous for others in the church to think highly of their generosity that they lied about how much they gave to the Lord. As retribution, they were struck dead for their lying and their sins of pride. Even Paul, the Apostle Paul, was tempted with pride. We don't know the details, but he says in 2 Corinthians 127,. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. So how do we fight this sin of pride? You humble yourself, you get grateful. Be grateful for your blessings. Pray to God. If this is one of your big problems, pray to God for his help and go to your war council. If you take an adequate, accurate assessment of who you are, what your soul is, where it's at, you will repent, you will be humble and you'll be grateful. And you need to understand how big God is. Too many of us think we are eye level with God. We are not. We are infinitely below him.

Speaker 2: 40:33

Remember what he did for you, remember what Christ did for you.

Speaker 1: 40:38

The price he paid for you for something you did not deserve. If you take those things into consideration and you do those things, get humble every day, pray prayers of gratitude and humbleness, being grateful for everything he's blessed you with and remembering how great he is. Gratitude is the antidote to pride and depression and so many other things. So we're going to go ahead and do the Lord's Supper. We do that every week here. This is for baptized believers, and I have a warning for those out there, instructions on how to do this. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup this is out of 1 Corinthians 11, 27-32, an unworthy man will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So now go ahead and close your eyes. Search yourself out for pride. Search yourself out for the biggest danger out there your entitlement and your pride. Do that and bring all of your sin, your unrepentant sin, your newly revealed sin that God has brought to your attention. Bring it to him and lay it at his feet. Repent it, own it, repent it. Give it to him and lay it at his feet. Repent it, own it, repent it. Give it to him and then remember what he did for you when he won the war for all of us. Remember that God chose you for the foundations of the earth and wrote you into the book of life. You did nothing to deserve this. He chose you. You are his elect. Now, as they were reading, jesus took bread and, after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said Take, eat, this is my body, go ahead. And he took it up and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Go ahead and drink, lauren.

Speaker 1: 43:30

Doxology is in that book over there, and you and this side can sing together over there. It's bookmarked. Heavenly Father, lord, we thank you for your Son. We thank you for your creation, we thank you for your blessings, we thank you for your infinite grace, for we stumble and we fall over and over and over and over. Lord, soften our hearts, open our ears, open our eyes to see your ways and not our own. Lord, help us to die to ourself and to live and become more like you. Lord, this world we live in is nothing but pride and self-value. Thank you for showing us that we are servants, that the slave amongst us is the greatest amongst us. I pray that everyone here would slay the pride within their hearts.

Speaker 1: 44:56

Now. I pray a prayer of protection over this fellowship and congregation, over the persecuted church, over our troops, overseas, first responders at home and our veterans of yesteryear. I pray for the whole world that we would be in peace and not go into World War III. And I pray for our beloved America. I pray that she would humble herself, turn from her sin, hit her knees and seek your face, and that you would see her and heal her, that we might become once again one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Now I call this fellowship to put on the full armor of God, to strap on the shield of faith, pick up the sword of the Spirit and to boldly step forward, to join the shield wall locking shields to the left and right as we march to take ground for your kingdom, for your glory forever. Now I'm going to torture you with my singing, but luckily I have people to go with me, so I'll be singing doxology Ready.

Speaker 2: 45:58

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, son and Holy Ghost. Amen. Go ahead and rise.

Speaker 1: 46:25

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.