The Proud in Heart
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Intro:
Intro:
Good evening (continued comments about enjoying the lectureship).
Our topic for tonight is “The Proud in Heart.”
I am convinced that human pride is at the root of so many sins, there are too many to name!
The middle letter in the word “Sin” is “I,” and the middle letter in the word “Pride” is “I” as well.
And when you put human pride and human selfishness together, you get sin, the root of all the world’s problems!
So tonight we want to look at the problem of pride, specifically.
We want to see how it manifests itself …
The problems it causes …
And how to overcome it!
Let’s begin by looking at …
Pride in the Book of Proverbs:
Pride in the Book of Proverbs:
The book of Proverbs has a LOT to say about Pride, and the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the human heart for that matter as well.
“Matters of the Heart?” - The word “heart” appears no less than 78 times in the book of Proverbs. (If I counted it right)
We read verses such as:
Prov. 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
Prov. 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
And phrases such as “the understanding in heart,” “the wise in heart,” “the foolish in heart,” and “the heart of the righteous,” among others!
And several times in Proverbs the word “heart” is intertwined with the thought of warning against PRIDE!
Prov. 16:5 - The verse from which our sermon title comes:
Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
Let that sink in, right ...
Everyone proud in heart is … an ABOMINATION to the Lord.
Translation? You cannot be a PRIDEFUL person and make it to heaven!
God hates it. He DESPISES it!
And then the proverb adds: “Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.”
You remember the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11?
What is that really a case study in? (HUMAN PRIDE!)
If you remember that story, their reasoning for building the tower of Babel was simple — “Let us make a NAME for ourselves!”
PRIDE!
The Proverb says “though they JOIN FORCES (and many did there at Babel), none will go unpunished!
Thus, the tower of Babel is just one case study of many on pride in the Bible!
Here’s a quick Proverb, but a good one. Prov. 18:12
Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.
Think about that.
A man absolutely obliterates his life with a certain sin — You pick the sin (Any sin can destroy lives)!
What came before the destruction? (The sin)
And what came before the sin? (PRIDE!) (HAUGHTINESS!)
Being so arrogant that the person thinks he could get away with it!
Every bank robber, every murderer, every swindler, every drug dealer, etc. who now sits and spends his days in a jail cell thought he could get away with it!
… But he didn’t!
“Before destruction the heart of man is HAUGHTY!”
You have to remember that the Bible says “your sin WILL find you out” (Num. 32:23)!
Prov. 21:4
A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.
This Proverb is a triplet (You see a lot of couplets in Proverbs - Two parallel ideas — But this one is a triplet) — It’s a quick little way of showing THREE THINGS that are wicked, that are sinful …
And two of the three come back to pride!
Prov. 28:25
He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.
Prov. 13:10 is similar — It says …
By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.
Prov. 13:10
Only by pride cometh contention: But with the well advised is wisdom.
I would present for your consideration that EVERY TIME you find contention/strife/infighting, PRIDE is present!
EVERY SINGLE TIME!
Because you’ve got two or more people who won’t humble themselves enough to be the peacemakers that Jesus talks about in Matt. 5:9!
Well, one more — How could we not have a sermon on Pride and not mention this one?
7 things that God hates!
Notice which one is first on the list!
Prov. 6:16-19
These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
Let’s transition now to asking …
How Does Pride Manifest Itself, and What Problems Are Caused by Pride?
How Does Pride Manifest Itself, and What Problems Are Caused by Pride?
We’ve already mentioned a couple:
Pride manifests itself, first and foremost, in sin — When man is arrogant enough to think that he can getaway with wrongdoing, that no one will see him (not true, because GOD sees! God is omni-present — His eyes are in every place! — Prov. 15:3); When man thinks he can get away with sin, that’s nothing but pride!
We’ve also mentioned that only by PRIDE comes strife/contention.
Can you think of any other manifestations of pride?
Of any problems caused by pride?
What about the Christian who won’t submit to authority?
It could be the governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-7),
Could be a wife not wanting to submit to her husband’s authority (Eph. 5),
Children not submitting to the authority of their parents (Eph. 6:1ff),
Employees not submitting to the authority of their employers (Eph. 6 as well),
Or how about Christians not submitting to the authority of their elders? (Heb. 13:7, 17)
All of those have an element of PRIDE to them!
“I want to do what I want to do!” or “I don’t have to listen to or submit to YOU!”
Pride manifest itself every JUNE in this country, doesn’t it?
In the form of debaucherous and raucous celebrations of sinful lifestyles!
Romans chapter 1 has something to say about that!
And pride is always present when someone refuses to admit that he has done wrong!
I’m sure that we could think of a lot more, but as we come near the end tonight, finally I want to ask this …
How Do We Overcome Pride?
How Do We Overcome Pride?
(We have to get over ourselves and realize that the world is much bigger than just ourselves).
(The church is bigger than ourselves).
(We serve a God that is infinitely “bigger” than we are, if we can say it that way!)
“My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do!”
He is the Creator of the universe!
He is the omni-benevolent (all-good), omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent God and Creator of the universe, and that demands that we SERVE Him!
That we WORSHIP Him!
That we LIVE for Him!
And that we stop thinking too highly of ourselves, because life’s ultimately not about “US!”
It’s about living to please HIM!
When you realize just how “big” God is, you realize just how SMALL we really are!
Rom. 12:3 after the famous two verses about presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God, and not being conformed to this world but to be TRANSFORMED … In the very next verse, the first thing to come after that is this …
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
You show me a man who thinks he can get away with his sin, you show me a man who thinks it won’t find him out, you show me a man who is selfish, you show me a man who thinks his actions only affect himself and don’t bear any consequences toward his family or others around him, and you’ll be showing me a PRIDEFUL man!
A selfish man …
A man who thinks too highly of himself, exalts himself in selfish pursuit of pleasure, and has forgotten God.
And that is a TERRIBLE and DANGEROUS place to be!
Where are you tonight, spiritually speaking?
The Bible is clear that one must humble himself if he is going to come to Christ, and to live for Christ.
I’ve said it quite a bit — I think we need to mention humility in the plan of salvation!
A man who won’t humble himself … will not listen to the Gospel.
A man who won’t humble himself … won’t understand the need to believe in the Gospel/believe in Jesus Christ.
A man who won’t humble himself … won’t be willing to repent of his sins.
A man who won’t humble himself … won’t be willing to confess Christ.
A man who won’t humble himself … won’t obey the Gospel/be baptized into Christ.
And a man who won’t be humble himself will not remain faithful unto death.
James 4:6-10 (James is sometimes called “the Proverbs of the New Testament,” by the way).
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
(Give invitation).
