The trouble with pride.
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Intro
Intro
As we begin this morning, picture with me for a moment that you are on a drive with someone, perhaps heading to Missoula.
Perhaps someone you know, they are driving, you are along for the ride.
Along the way you end up talking about Jesus, and whether this person would give their life to Christ.
The response they give is striking and really shows humanities resistance to the gospel.
The look to you and say “My biggest problem is pride. I can’t humble myself. And you want to know the reason I can’t give up on my pride?”
They tighten their grip on the steering wheel and say “Because it’s brought be so far.”
You know this persons life, that pride had brought nothing but great pain.
I can think of people like this from my past.
That their pride broke relationships.
Perhaps you can as well, perhaps you can even relate to this persons thinking.
Pride is something we all struggle to lay down.
Because as we think, our pride has brought us so far in life.
When in reality, what it has brought is pain, isolation, and ruined relationships.
Proud people will find reasons to reject God.
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
How we approach God matters.
How we approach God matters.
This section comes directly after Jesus had spoken of John,
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
Jesus made this striking statement about John, and about the people and about God’s kingdom.
The next verses makes a clear distinction between two different groups of people.
One is the average people, the lowly people, the tax collectors.
The second group is the Pharisees and the lawyers.
The first is a group who admit their need.
And in response to what has been taught, they declared God just.
The other is a group of people who thought they knew it all.
They were filled with pride, they knew God, they knew scripture (the Law).
Rather than seeing the truth of what John was proclaiming, and who Jesus was, they rejected the purpose of God for themselves.
The other, the people who were prideful, who knew God, who knew the Law, who should have known the just nature of God, rejected the purpose of God for themselves.
As Jesus spoke about the kingdom, people responded to him in two ways.
By either accepting or rejecting.
We see this throughout Jesus ministry, and throughout scripture really.
When Jesus speaks, people respond.
When God speaks, people responds.
In the OT I think of Moses at the burning bush.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
We see the opposite response from people especially in relation to the prophets in the OT.
English Standard Version Introduction
Hosea has been called the “death-bed prophet of Israel” because he was the last to prophesy before the northern kingdom fell to Assyria (about 722 B.C.). His ministry followed a golden age in the northern kingdom, with a peace and prosperity not seen since the days of Solomon. Unfortunately, with this prosperity came moral decay, and Israel forsook God to worship idols.
English Standard Version Introduction
Hosea then explained God’s complaint against Israel and warned of the punishment that would come unless the people returned to the Lord and remained faithful to him.
We know the outcome though, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered.
In the NT think about Paul’s call on the road to Damascus.
And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
Everywhere the word of God was preached there was one of two responses, acceptance or rejections.
Declaring God just, or rejecting the purposes of God.
We know that there were others in Jesus day who did not accept God’s call.
Did not confess their sins, did not see the need to repent and be baptized as John preached.
But the majority of the people who rejected John, where the Pharisees and the scribes (Lawyers).
They were held up as the religious front runners of their day.
They prided themselves on their obedience to God and wanted to be accepted based on their work.
They didn’t think they needed to repent, why after all would a person like them need to?
They were even offended by the idea that salvation was a free gift for sinners.
Salvation was something in their minds you had to earn.
And they thought they were being good enough to earn it.
Their approach to God was wrong.
They sought Him on their terms, not on His.
Does this sound similar to any of you?
I have family members who tend to think this way.
All you need to be is a good enough person.
The attitude I believe stems from one of two things.
Either a lack of awareness, (which I believer very few truly have).
Or a prideful attitude of self reliance and self sufficiency.
Which is why it is important for us to remember in sharing the gospel, that it is the Lord who works upon the hearts of men.
He uses us.
We have the role of going into all nations making disciples.
Proclaiming the truth.
But it is the Holy Spirit who convicts the hearts of men and calls them to repentance.
It is important to remember this because prideful people, will always find a reason to reject God.
The religion of atheism, agnosticism (believing the world can only be interpreted by what you see), are that of pride.
It is tempting mankind to think that we are better than we are but the Bible says we really are.
Jesus tells us that we need to come to him confessing our sins.
The only people who ever find salvation are the people who agree that God is right to say that they are unrighteous.
Who lay aside their pride and admit their need as sinners.
Once we agree with that, we are ready to come to Jesus
Are we so prideful about our desires that we miss what matters most?
Are we so prideful about our desires that we miss what matters most?
That is why Jesus goes on to make the analogy that he does.
“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
This is an analogy from everyday life.
Those who have spent much time around kids know that they imitate what they see.
That is the picture Jesus uses.
Children playing games, mimicking what they saw in the streets.
Two of the things that happened in the streets were weddings and funerals.
Joyous and sad occasions.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Playing the Game Right
Sometimes they played weddings, dancing around the boy and girl pretending to be the bride and groom. Sometimes they played funerals, singing sad songs and pretending to cry
The rhyme Jesus quotes is one that kids would taunt those with who did not want to play.
English Standard Version Chapter 7
We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep
Jesus comparison is really another comment on the spiritual state of scribes and Pharisees.
It shows how much insight Jesus had into the true spiritual condition of the people who refused his grace,
who were always looking for someone or something else.
Jesus understood that it did not matter who preached to them:
they simply refused to have anything to do with the salvation God had to offer.
First came John the Baptist—wearing wild clothes, eating strange foods, and preaching repentance.
He would not play weddings; all he ever did was play funerals, crying about the judgment to come.
John was much too condemning for the Pharisees, because he condemned them as well.
When he dared to tell them to repent of their sins, they decided that he had to be demon-possessed.
Then Jesus came, and the Pharisees did not want what he had to offer either.
He was not somber enough, too loose with who he associated with.
Jesus had such a good time that he had a reputation for partying.
All he ever did was spend time with notorious sinners,
English Standard Version Chapter 7
Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!
It was wrong to preach about grace and offer mercy to people who did not even deserve it.
As far as the Pharisees were concerned, the way to gain God’s blessing was to be good and religious.
Since they did not see any need to repent of their sin, they did not accept God’s grace in the gospel.
They thought salvation was theirs by right, and they were offended by the idea that it came as a gift for sinners.
The pharisees were too prideful in their own endeavors to realize their true need for forgiveness of sin.
They were so prideful that they missed what mattered most!
Are we?
You and I can never be good enough to get to heaven on our own.
No matter how good you think you are.
It will not happen......
Apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Skip?
The contrast we see between Jesus and John helps us to see a couple of things we can do. Find joy in what brings God joy, and weep over what causes Him to weep.
Find joy in what God finds joy in.
Life was not intended by God to be a joyless ordeal.
As much as it might surprise some of us, it is actually God’s desire for us to experience joy.
Joy is an act of relating to God with vulnerable, unselfconscious gratitude for the good gifts he gives.
Joy comes when we experience and acknowledge God’s love and care for us, when we allow ourselves to express our gratitude for his love with emotional and physical energy.
Joy is the celebration of God’s love.
I’m not saying go become a bar fly, hang out and party the nights away.
But do those sorts of people see any joy in your life?
Weep in what God weeps in.
After Jesus triumphal entry into Jersualem on Palm Sunday he looked out over Jerusalem and wept.
He wept over the peoples rejection of God.
James offers a stark warning
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
End Skip
Are we so busy playing the game of life that we miss the point?
Are we so busy playing the game of life that we miss the point?
Got to make that money, buy that home, buy that truck, get the next latest and greatest thing.
When what we truly need to do is lay aside our pride and develop a relationship with God.
The hard thing is there are so many things and it is easy to drift into prideful obscurity.
Casting crowns song - Slow Fade
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands
As darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you
That are sure to follow
It's a slow fade
When you give yourself away
It's a slow fade
When black and white have turned to grey
And thoughts invade, choices made
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade
It's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise
The end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises
Lead broken hearts astray
What are the things that are distracting you from growing in your relationship with Jesus?
They may be good things that are out of order.
They may be sinful things that need repented of.
A problem arises when only seek God on our own terms.
The word geek is a slang term for (a) A person regarded as foolish, inept, or clumsy; (b) A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially incompetent.
The word usually isn't intended as a compliment. But if you have a problem with your computer, cell phone, gaming device, or television, that's when you really want a geek around. There's even a company called "The Geek Squad" which proudly advertizes, "We're geeky, yes, but we also know what you're going through, because nobody is more into technology than we are." When you need The Geek Squad, you give them a call, they fix your problem, and then they leave you alone.
Is it possible to treat God in the same way that people treat the Geek Squad? In his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis described approaching God in a similar way. At a young age, when C. S. Lewis learned that his mother was dying, he remembered that he had been taught that prayers offered in faith would be granted. When his mother eventually died, Lewis prayed for a miracle. Later, he wrote:
I had approached God, or my idea of God, without love, without awe, even without fear. He was, in my mental picture of this miracle, to appear neither as Savior nor as Judge, but merely as a magician; and when he had done what was required of him I supposed he would simply—well, go away. It never crossed my mind that the tremendous contract which I solicited should have any consequence beyond restoring the status quo.
Anytime we expect God to fix our problems, restore the status quo, and then go away so we can live without him, we've treated God like the Geek Squad.
We mustn’t be so prideful as to think we only need God for a time or a crisis.
To come in and fix our problems so we can be on our way again.
This is not a relationship.
Building our relationships with God is something we can do with time and intentional effort.
Building a relationship with God requires laying aside our pride and seeking Him with our whole hearts, through individual and corporate means.
The truth will be known.
The truth will be known.
All of this will be shown true in the end.
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Both John’s and Jesus’ fruit would be shown.
We look back now and see that to be true.
We also see the fruit of the Pharisees.
The children of wisdom are people who are justified by faith, who are “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15).
The way for us to be so wise is to see our need of repentance and to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Anyone who still has any doubts should go back to Jesus. Learn from his teaching. Look at his miracles.
Listen to what the Bible says about his death and resurrection. Stop looking for someone or something else.
If you are a sinner who needs a friend, then Jesus is the Savior for you.
How ironic, and how truly sad, that Jesus was the Savior the Pharisees needed all along.
They were offended because Jesus was “a friend of sinners” (Luke 7:34).
Since they did not think that they were sinners, Jesus was no friend of theirs!
But instead of being offended by Jesus, the Pharisees should have believed in him.
Jesus will rightly cause us to become aware of our pride.
Pride that causes a rift between Him and ourselves.
Pride that causes outright denial in an unbelieving person.
Prideful people will always find a reason to reject God.
The truth of each persons life will be known in the end.
for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
(Paul quoting OT)