Sermon Tone Analysis

Confronting the Sins We Tolerate

Nobody likes to be called out for something they are doing.

That is why messages about sin are not very popular.

On the other hand, if you continued in your life to do something that was either causing you problems or would lead to problems, wouldn’t you want to know about it and change things?

This is what this message and the upcoming messages are about – identifying sinful habits and mindsets that are in our lives and allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us to change into the healthy Christians that Jesus wants us to be.

This morning we will begin with the problem of pride.

In the OT there is a character named Absalom who seemed to have everything going for him, but his pride leads him to his destruction.

His famous brother, Solomon, wrote these words:

What is Pride?

Today we often hear the term pride expressed in a positive manner.

We are proud of our Astros or Aggies.

We are proud to be Americans and the list goes on.

There is nothing wrong with those things so where does it go wrong?

The Bible has A LOT to say about pride.

One Bible scholar said this,

“A distinctive feature of biblical religion is its teaching about pride and its converse, humility; this is unparalleled in other religious and ethical systems.

According to the Bible … pride is the very root and essence of sin” (RTWB, p. 176).[1]

So, what is pride?

In the Bible the Hebrew word means “unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem”.

Have you met the clever salesman who drives a Mercedes because of this line, “Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn’t afford?”

What rises in us?

Well, I’ll show them!

Pride steps in to trip us up.

C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity

Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man...

It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.

Once the element of competition is gone, pride is gone.

Pride is universal and we all struggle with it in some form.

Before we move on to look at Absalom, we are faced to agree with C.S. Lewis that all of us struggle with it:

There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves.

[…] There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves.

[…]The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.

As I mentioned, this sermon deals with confronting the sins that we tolerate, we see that the problem of pride is universal and devastating.

There is a story in the Bible about King David’s son, Absalom, and how pride destroyed his life.

Absalom’s Pride

Absalom seemed to be perfect.

We used to say that he would have been on the cover of GQ, now “he never took a bad selfie”!

The man weighed his hair!

But he also seemed to be an extremely likable personality.

I said he seemed likeable – but let’s see what he is really up to.

Appearances can be deceiving

Absalom looked legit.

He had the impressive entourage – a chariot, horses, and 50 guards.

He set up a campaign office on the side of the road leading to the city.

Absalom would intercept people heading to the king’s court.

In essence, Absalom would say, “No need for King David’s court.

He’s too busy for you anyway.

Let me help you.

You know, if only I were appointed judge in the land, then everything would be amazing!

You don’t know how much you need me!”

Pride-filled people often don’t realize what they are doing.

Most of the time it is subtle and begins with attraction, then they plant just a little seed of doubt about others, and, finally, comes self-promotion, “If only I were in charge”.

I’ve been in ministry for over 30 years, and I’ve seen people try to self-promote within the church.

Just like Absalom they attract people, begin to plant seeds of doubt, and then begin to offer themselves as the solution to all the problems.

I had a man one time tell me that God told him that he should be the assistant pastor.

Of course, God hadn’t confirmed that to me.

I call it the Absalom spirit – it is pride and will only bring destruction.

Even Paul addressed it to the church of Corinth.

The book by Gene Edwards, A Tale of Three Kings, attempts to describe the hearts of King Saul, King David, and Absalom.

Pride Demands that Self Be Made King

We know that pride is unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem.

We also know that pride tempts all of us and that it is at the root of many problems.

Edwards describes Absalom as “sincere and ambitious.

A contradiction, perhaps, but true, nonetheless.

He probably means some of what he says.

But his ambition will continue long after he discovers his inability to do the things he promises.

Righting the wrongs always becomes secondary to ascent to power.”[2]

Absalom’s pride is full by this time and the conspiracy to overthrow his father, the king, was under way.

The next several chapters detail the flight of the King, the humiliation of the King, and the clash of Absalom’s men and David’s.

The Devastation of Pride

What we sometimes forget is the fact that pride is devastating.

In chapter 18 we see the result of Absalom’s pride:

It is interesting to see that the story ends with Absalom suspended above the ground by his famous hair.

In just a couple verses Joab will put an end to Absalom.

Many commentators have suggested that the term “left hanging in midair” are quite important.

(They) ….suggest that this language is more than merely descriptive of Absalom’s physical position and that it carries a symbolical meaning as well.

… “ ‘Between heaven and earth’ means that he has become a nowhere man.

His pride, his ambition and his rebelliousness—in short, his ego—have brought him to a point where he is no longer in control.

His bid for power has removed the ground from beneath his feet and led to complete impotence.”[3]

A ”nowhere man”…what a brilliant description of the results of pride.

Ultimately that is where pride gets us – nowhere.

Defeating the Temptation of Pride

I know that you don’t want to be a “nowhere man”.

You want to be on the VERGE of what God wants to do in your life…so realize that pride is a problem of the flesh.

Selfish ambition arises from fallen human nature

Instead we need to walk in the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to produce the things of the Spirit in us.

The Holy Spirit will also correct us when we are wrong and teach us “all things”.

Selfish Ambition Results in Humiliation and Spiritual Unproductivity

This is interesting because it often seems like the Absalom’s of this world have so much to offer.

But the truth is that pride results in destruction – personal and relational.

Pride reduces effectiveness and productivity.

Listen to these verses from the NT:

Pride chokes, makes unfruitful, creates disorder, and offers an environment for evil practices.

The Antidote for Pride is Humility

It is interesting to note that the approximate age of Absalom at his rebellion is about the same age of David as he was anointed King but running from the disgraced King Saul.

David was offered several chances to kill Saul but refuses to touch the King of Israel.

David was a man of humility, Absalom was a prideful man.

(Stand) Pride is one of those sins that we’d be foolish to ignore.

It reminds me of this story:

For the first time in forty-seven years, the tuna were running only thirty miles off Cape Cod.