Every year, professional golfers compete weekend after weekend, January through August, to determine who is the best golfer in the world.

During the course of the season, there are what are known as the Majors.

The Majors are the 4 most well-known and prestigious tournaments throughout the PGA season.

In an article about these 4 Major tournaments, Patrick Noble writes about the most prestigious of all… The Masters!

He writes…

The experience of attending a round of The Masters Tournament is unparalleled. The course is breathtakingly beautiful, with azaleas blooming throughout Augusta National during tournament week. Fans often dress in their finest apparel to watch as competitors battle it out for a chance at winning the famed Green Jacket. Despite its long history and prestige, The Masters Tournament continues to draw some of the greatest players from around the world who are eager to compete on one of golf’s most iconic courses. It truly is an event like no other.

Early in his career,

Arnold Palmer, one of the most famous/iconic golfers to ever play the game,

would learn a lesson about overconfidence at the Masters that he would never forget.

Arnold Palmer remembers the event…

It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot.

I felt I was in pretty good shape.

As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery.

He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, “Congratulations."

I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.

On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green.

I missed a putt and lost the Masters.

You don't forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again.

I haven't in the 30 years since.

The title of my sermon this morning is:

Beware the Sin of Pride

It is pride and self-confidence that got in the way of Arnold Palmer winning on the biggest stage.

He took his eyes off the goal.

He allowed his focus to shift away from the target, before he finished the game.

He let his pride get in the way.

G.K. Chesterton, a Christian apologist, said...

If I had only one sermon to preach it would be a sermon against pride.

Benjamin Franklin said…

There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.

Jeremy Taylor said…

He that is proud of riches is a fool. For if he be exalted above his neighbours because he hath more gold, how much inferior is he to a gold mine?

This is exactly why God opposes the proud.

He alone is God… He alone is worthy… He alone is all-mighty, all-knowing, and present everywhere at the same time.

How could anyone be arrogant and proud before all-mighty God?

Eugene Peterson, speaking on the fear of the Lord says…

“… the Bible talks of the fear of the Lord—not to scare us but to bring us to awesome attention before the overwhelming grandeur of God, to shut up our whining and chattering and stop our running and fidgeting so that we can really see him as he is and listen to him as he speaks his merciful, life-changing words of forgiveness.”

OVERVIEW

As we pick back up in our series in the book of Exodus…

Pharaoh came face to face with God, but his pride got in the way of him recognizing God as the only true God.

Rather than submitting to the God of the universe, Pharaoh chose to:

Ignore God’s Word;

Ignore God’s Discipline; and

Ignore God’s Grace

The consequences that he and his people experienced as a result, literally ruined them as a nation.

We must not let our pride get in the way of us turning to God in humble repentance.

When we choose to worship Him by following His ways, He will faithfully lead us in victory.

This morning we are going to see the consequences of:

Ignoring God’s Word;

Ignoring God’s Discipline: and

Ignoring God’s Grace

First…

The Consequences of Ignoring God’s Word

EXPLAIN

If you were here last week, you will remember how Pastor Jake talked about the first 3 plagues that God brought on Egypt as a result of Pharaoh’s pride.

He turned the Nile into blood...

Filled the city with frogs…

and then gnats.

Before sending these 3 plagues,

God had given Moses the command to give to Pharaoh,

to let His people go into the wilderness to worship Him and hold a feast.

Pharaoh refused… because of his pride.

We see this in…

Exodus 5:1–2 ESV

Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”

Ultimately, Pharaoh is rejecting God and His authority.

Tim Chester makes this point in his commentary…

Authority is tied to the identity of the person making a command. We obey when we recognise a higher authority. We obey gladly when we recognise a higher, trustworthy and good authority. In fact, that’s Pharaoh’s point.

Slaves obey overseers, overseers obey foremen, foremen obey Pharaoh. There’s a chain of command and Pharaoh is at the top—not the Hebrew slaves. So Pharaoh’s question is really: What gives this God of slaves a right to issue commands to me, the king of Egypt, a living deity?

It is Pharaoh’s pride and arrogance that leads him to ignore God’s Word.

He refuses to acknowledge God as the ultimate authority…

he refuses to submit to God.

God then brings about consequences as a result of Pharaoh’s refusal to trust His Word.

These consequences come in the form of plagues and disasters on the people of Egypt, and…

Ultimately… the plagues serve to prove that God is truly the only God, and is worthy of honour, respect, and worship!

God states this before almost every plague.

Turning the Nile to Blood

Exodus 7:17 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

Frogs

Exodus 8:10 (ESV)

And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

Flies

Exodus 8:22 (ESV)

But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

Hail

Exodus 9:14 (ESV)

For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.

Exodus 9:16 (ESV)

But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Exodus 9:29 (ESV)

Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.

Locusts

Exodus 10:2 (ESV)

and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

Death of firstborn threatened

Exodus 11:9 (ESV)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

SUMMARY

Though God continued to prove over and over again that He was superior to Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt…

Pharaoh’s pride does not allow him to humble himself before God and believe His Word.

His trust is in himself, and his gods.

APPLY

What are you placing your trust in?

Do you place your trust in your ability to get things done?

Do you find yourself looking to the world for a solution to your problems?

Are you waiting for:

the right spouse…

the right job…

the right season of your life until you’re finally happy and content?

We must realize that God is the solution to our problems!

We must run to Him for healing,

We must run to Him for joy and satisfaction,

We must run to Him and worship Him,

We must run to His Word to lead and guide us.

Every time you look to the world or to yourself rather than looking to God, you are ignoring God’s Word.

Psalm 1 — blessed is the man…

We all struggle to do this… to place our trust in the things of this world, the things we can see.

But there’s something far greater… God!

He has given us His Word, revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ!

When we are committed to God and His Word, then we will be blessed!

BLESSING

In these chapters, the pride and disobedience of Pharaoh is contrasted with the humility and obedience of Moses.

Each and every time God asks Pharaoh to let His people go, Pharaoh refuses.

BUT… each and every time God asks Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh, he does.

Moses trusts God, and has faith in His Word.

Moses is so committed to God’s Word, that he is unwilling to compromise.

Pharaoh repeatedly tries to get Moses to agree to something less than what God required…

you can worship here in Egypt…

the men can go...

you can all go but leave your flocks and herds…

But Moses is committed to doing EXACTLY what God had commanded!

God responds by protecting the Israelites from the worst of the plagues, and distinguishing them from the stubborn Egyptians.

God is faithful… He will do what He says.

The good news is that we don’t need to be perfect. Obedience is learned over time.

Think of Moses… he was not very willing and obedient at the beginning. It took him 80 years to get to the point where he simply trusted God.

And even then, it took a lot of convincing from God to get him to go to Egypt!

Obedience is not instantaneous, but slow, continual progression.

We must be committed to know and obey God’s Word

RESPOND

We don’t always understand God’s Word, but we need to trust in God because of what He HAS done throughout history, and throughout our lives.

We need to be quick to obey.

This means we need to KNOW God’s Word.

How can we know it if we are not reading every day???

We need to be in God’s Word daily!!!

What area of your life is God calling you to trust Him?

Do you find yourself in difficult situations where you don’t know what to do?

The question to ask is: Are you filled with wisdom from God’s Word?

Are you a man or woman who pursues God daily in His Word?

Commit to being in God’s Word daily!

I know we say this often… but it’s because…

although reading our Bible’s daily is the most basic part of Christianity, it is so often neglected.

We CANNOT be victorious if we are not in God’s Word daily.

The Bible is His Word to us

That is how He speaks to us.

If you ignore God’s Word, you are more prone to trusting in yourself, the things of this world, and falling into the sin of pride and self-deceit.

If you ignore God’s Word, He will discipline you.

This is because of His love for you, and desire to see you turn to Him.

Maybe you started the Bible plan with us in January, but have fallen behind…

Pick up where you left off and start back up!

Maybe you don’t know where to start… start a Bible plan today!

Youversion…

lemchurch.ca under “Bible Reading Plan” under the ministries tab.

Maybe you feel like a failure because you’ve fallen behind, or have not been committed to God’s Word… but the only true failure would be refusing to change.

It is pride that will keep you from confessing your sin and turning from it.

In humility, turn to God, confess your sin, and begin acknowledging His authority in your life through your devotion to His Word!

As you make God’s Word a priority…

He will guide you by His Spirit,

He will bless you and protect you,

He will give you wisdom for you daily life, as well as your future.

The consequences of ignoring God’s Word brings about discipline.

God disciplined Pharaoh and the Egyptians for their stubbornness and pride by sending plagues…

but as we will see, Pharaoh does not respond well to God’s discipline.

Next we will see…

The Consequences of Ignoring God’s Discipline

EXPLAIN

As a result of Pharaoh’s continued disobedience, God continues to bring plagues on Egypt.

Through the plagues, God makes it abundantly clear that He is greater than the so-called “gods” of Egypt.

Pharaoh’s pride is in himself, as well as the many “gods” they had.

In his commentary on the book of Exodus, Philip Graham Ryken says…

There were about eighty major deities in Egypt, all clustered about three great natural forces of Egyptian life: the Nile River, the land, and the sky. . . . The first two plagues were against the gods of the Nile. The next four were against the land gods. The final four plagues were against the gods of the sky, culminating the death of the firstborn. — Philip Graham Ryken

Through these plagues, God is displaying His power, and His superiority over Egypt’s “gods”.

God is the only true God. Therefore He deserves our whole-hearted worship.

This is going to lead to the very first commandment God gives His people… what Jesus calls the great and first commandment...

Exodus 20:2–3 ESV

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.

Because God is the only true God, and is the only One who is all-powerful, there is no reason to worship any other gods.

Why would you want to when He has over-powered every other god?

But Pharaoh refuses to humble himself before God.

Then God addresses this continuing pride in Pharaoh right before the 7th plague of hail.

We pick up in Exodus 9:13.

Turn there with me in your Bibles.

Exodus 9:13–21 (ESV)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.

For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.

But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” ’ ”

Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

Because Pharaoh continues to ignore God’s Word, God brings discipline.

Though God continues to escalate the discipline, Pharaoh continues to exalt himself over God.

Though he does not have the power to stop God’s plagues, and his magicians and sorcerers cannot duplicate or stop them, Pharaoh continues to put his trust in himself and his gods.

Dr. Douglas A. Thom has said…

We can believe almost anything if it be necessary to protect our pride.

SUMMARY

Because of Pharaoh’s pride, he refuses to listen to God’s Word, which brings about God’s discipline.

Even God’s discipline is rejected by Pharaoh, who continues in his stubbornness and pride.

APPLY

If we do not confront sin in our lives, this can happen to us as well.

We give in to sin in one small area.

Maybe for a while it grieves us, but then we become numb to it.

Then we go deeper into sin.

Again, it grieves us for a short time, but then we become numb again.

And slowly, it becomes easier and easier to go deeper and deeper into sin.

At some point, it’s easier to continue living a lie, living in unconfessed sin than it is to repent, turn around and deal with the consequences of our sin.

In order to avoid God’s discipline in our lives…

We must be willing to humbly confess and repent sin in our lives.

When God brings discipline in our lives, we must be willing to confess our sin, and turn away from it.

Because sin is so deceptive, we need to have faithful Christians in our lives who hold us accountable.

Hebrews 3:13 ESV

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

By having people in our lives that we regularly confess sin to, we will spare ourselves a lot of discipline from the Lord, not to mention pain and heartache from the effects of the sin.

What if you feel like you’re in too deep in sin to turn back now?

Maybe you feel like you’re too far gone… you’re beyond redemption.

You’re never beyond the reach of God’s grace!

The song “Jesus There’s No One Like You” by Sovereign Grace Music captures this well…

There is no sinner beyond

The infinite stretch of Your mercy

How can we thank You enough

For how You have loved us completely?

Jesus, there’s no one like You Jesus, we love You, ever adore You There’s no one like You Jesus, we love You, ever adore You, Lord

There are times our pride prevents us from coming to God in humble repentance.

We must recognize it, otherwise we will continue on, blindly ignoring God’s Word, and His discipline.

This will lead to the hardening of our hearts as we sink deeper and deeper into sin.

There are other times we struggle to come to God because we are ashamed of our sin.

There is no sin that you have that God has not already seen.

Come to Him in humility and repentance, and He will:

accept you,

cleanse you of all unrighteousness,

and strengthen you to turn from a life of exalting yourself to living to exalt the only true God, who is worthy of all honour and praise!

The sin of pride is what causes us to ignore God’s Word,

which brings about His discipline.

And if we ignore God’s discipline,

He is faithful to increase the discipline so that we might see and acknowledge that He is God.

But there are times where God allows those who are living in sin to experience His grace.

Next, we are going to see…

The Consequences of Ignoring God’s Grace

EXPLAIN

The amazing thing about this story of the plagues, is God’s amazing grace and patience as He deals with proud, stubborn Pharaoh.

At every plague, Pharaoh offers some false repentance and asks Moses to plead with God to remove the plague.

We see this same thing after the 8th plague, when God sends locusts on the Egyptians…

Exodus 10:14–20 (ESV)

The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again.

They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left.

Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.”

So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord.

And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea.

Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

Though Pharaoh had offered this false repentance many times already, God still graciously answers Moses’ prayer on His behalf, knowing full well that Pharaoh is going to go back on his word.

Pharaoh seems to think this turn of events, this grace of God, means that he no longer needs to listen to his slaves.

Rather than seeing God’s grace, love, and patience, as a reason to humbly turn to him…

he takes advantage of this grace.

Maybe he thinks he has manipulated God and won.

Whatever is oing on in his mind, Pharaoh’s pride has blinded him!

He is unable to see God’s grace in his life, and refuses to turn to God.

Pharaoh’s pride,

all of his arrogance, self-trust,

all of his trust in his “gods”,

all of his ignoring God’s Word, God’s discipline, and God’s grace,

leads to a hard heart.

His heart has become increasingly hard with every step.

This leaves us with the difficult question that we often wrestle with...

Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart?

Over the course of these plagues:

3 times we are told that Pharaoh’s heart became hard, or was hard.

3 times we are told that Pharaoh hardened his own heart.

4 times we are told that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul talks about the sin of unrighteous and ungodly men.

They can see clearly from creation that God exists, and yet they suppress that truth and instead of worshiping God the Creator, they worship the things God has created.

Romans 1:24–25 ESV

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

We see here the combination of the hardening of their hearts because of their own choice, and the discipline of God.

Later on in Romans Paul says,

Romans 9:17–18 ESV

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

This is no doubt part of one of the most difficult passages in Scripture to interpret.

There is a tension between our free will as mankind, and the sovereign power of God.

I am not going to resolve that tension this morning,

but just because we cannot reconcile these two truths, does not mean we can limit the power of God.

What IS clear from this passage, is that God is in control.

He does what He pleases, for the glory and honour of His name!

Speaking on this in his commentary, Philip Graham Ryken says…

Pharaoh refuses to listen because Pharaoh hardens his heart. But it is also true that Pharaoh refuses to listen because the Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart. We have to take both of these perspectives seriously. Pharaoh determines Pharaoh’s actions, and God determines his actions. To put it another way, Pharaoh freely chooses to do what God had freely chosen that he would do.

SUMMARY

Because of the pride of Pharaoh… his refusal to humble himself under the mighty hand of God,

he brings judgment on himself… and his people.

ILLUSTRATION

The American Civil War, where the American people were fighting against one another, was fought from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865.

In 1863, the bloodiest year of the war, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of humility, repentant prayer and fasting.

He gave a public address where he said…

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

APPLY

In what areas of your life have you experienced the grace of God?

Think of all the blessings in your life:

job

house

car

family

friends

church

health

life

we could go on and on...

Are these things you humbly give God thanks for every day?

Or are they things that you take granted for…

things that you think you have because of your own strength and energy…

Maybe you think these things are a sign of God’s favour in your life, and so you don’t feel the need to address sin in your life.

God’s blessing does not equal God’s favour.

DO NOT IGNORE GOD’S GRACE IN YOUR LIFE!

He treats us far better than our sins deserve...

but let’s not take advantage of His grace.

A simple definition of God’s mercy is: God NOT giving us what we DO deserve

Eternal death/punishment because of our sin

A simple definition of God’s grace is: God giving us what we don’t deserve

Salvation in Christ, along with all the pleasures and blessings of this life.

Rather than having some false sense of God’s blessing because of His grace in our lives…

may we daily see His blessings, and humbly thank Him for them…

recognizing that we have done nothing to deserve them.

CLOSING

The 9th plague that came from God was 3 days of darkness.

For 3 days no one saw anyone else… they didn’t even leave their homes.

It was a darkness that was felt.

Pharaoh… in his pride and frustration says to Moses…

Exodus 10:28–29 ESV

Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”

Pharaoh was turning away his only hope!

Moses had already acted as Pharaoh’s intercessor before God many times… giving him the opportunity to repent and turn to God.

But rather than humble himself… he continues to elevate himself.

CHRIST CONNECTION

As Jesus, the Son of God hung on the cross, darkness fell over the land for 3 hours.

(Tim Chester)

The plagues were signs of God’s judgment and salvation. He judged Egypt and he saved his people. The reason that God sent the plagues was… “so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth … and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth”

But the plagues were pointers to the cross and resurrection of Jesus—to the ultimate signs of judgment and salvation. On the cross, Jesus experienced the judgment that will fall on all who are outside of him—and he has been raised as Judge of the world to bring that judgment. But his cross also brings salvation to all who are in him, and his resurrection is the promise of our resurrection.

Maybe you’re here this morning, and you have not given your life to the Lord.

You are ignoring His Word.

You are ignoring His discipline.

You are ignoring His grace.

You refuse to surrender yourself to the God who made and formed you.

You are hardening your heart toward God…

I want to warn you to turn from the wickedness of your heart!

If you reject Jesus, there is no other hope for you.

God will harden your heart and give you what you want…

eternity without Him.

Maybe you’re here this morning, and you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour…

but there are areas of your life where your pride keeps from obeying God’s Word…

As you become numb to your sin, you begin to ignore God’s discipline in your life, and even His grace.

Do not harden your heart to the things of God!

Commit to the God who formed you!

Surrender your life to Him!

Resolve yourself to be committed to knowing and obeying God through His Word.

As we daily come to Him in His Word, He will:

confront us in our sin…

remind us of His great love and salvation…

proclaim His mighty power toward those who love Him…

and comfort us with the truth that He will be with us if we humblY trust in Him.

Let’s pray.

DO NOT USE!!!

God is in control… God has ordained all things… God will accomplish His purposes and plans…

We have no basis for boasting in any area of life!

Even our own salvation… is not because of anything we have done, but because of the grace of God in our lives.

Voddie Baucham

How arrogant does a person have to be to believe that its possible for them to lose their salvation, but they haven’t? Who do you have to think you are? I’m a Christian, and I’m saved, and I’m on my way to heaven when I die… now there’s a possibility that I could mess this thing up, but I haven’t.

QUOTES

If you're falling off a cliff, strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch. Salvation is not finally based on the strength of your faith, but on the object of your faith. —Timothy Keller

The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access. — Timothy Keller

Salvation is not merely escape from just punishment, but also encapsulation in loving communion with God. While fear may grasp the heart of the hearer of the gospel in conviction, it is the love of God in redemption that casts out that fear.