SATAN’S TRAPS: PRIDE (3 of 5)

Satan’s trap of “Pride” (3 of 5)

Too much, or incorrect pride, can have
devastating consequences in our lives.
We cannot risk having something in
our life when God has said, “I hate that”.

– If a mother or father saw their child with drugs,
  wouldn’t they hate those drugs
  (because of what they can do to their child)?

– They hate the things that would destroy their children.

– They hate the things that would maim their children.

– They hate the things that would destroy their entire future.

– God hates sin; He hates pride because:
– He knows what it can do to us.
– He knows what it can do to His plans for us.
– He knows it is a confession that ‘we don’t need Him’.

CONSEQUENCES OF PRIDE
1. It hinders our relationship to God.
    – There is no way for us to have a relationship with God
      when there’s pride in our life…He says He hates pride.

    – If we have pride (which He hates) then he will not
      fellowship with us…we are on uneven ground with Him.

2. It hinders our relationships with other people.
    – You and I do not like to be around
      prideful, egotistical people who:
          – Want to do all the talking.
          – Have to be first and foremost.
          – Have to be out front.
          – Have to be the center of attention all the time.

     – We are all on the same level.
        – If we are Christians:
               – We are the children of God.
               – We have been saved by the grace of God.
               – We have been saved by the same grace.
               – None of us are better than the other.

        – Without God in our life:
               – We are in the same category.
               – We freely sin against God.
               – We live up to our carnal nature.

        Note:
        After we are saved, we have the power
        of the Holy Spirit to help us live a Godly life.

3. When we have pride, we block the blessings of God.
     – God is not going to tolerate pride.

     – He will not bless us as long as
       there is egotism and pride in our life.

     – Some may wonder why God isn’t blessing them more,
       but…
            – Their pride basically says they don’t depend on him.
            – They don’t need Him to be a part of their life.
            – Why would He want to bless that kind of an attitude?

4. It hinders our effectiveness as a leader.
    – Whether a leader in a job, church music,
       missionary or organization, it is a hindrance.

    – When we are following a leader, we want to follow
       someone we can believe in; someone we can trust.

    – If a person is prideful, we sense that:
           – Their focus is on their own ego.
           – They want to build themselves up.
           – They want to use others to achieve some goal.
           Note:
           Its difficult to follow someone we don’t trust.

    – If we try to be a leader with pride in our heart,
      the consequences can be devastating.

5. Showing favoritism to people who build up our ego.
    – In the business world (and in other environments)
      it is totally unfair.

    – The prideful person will do whatever
       is necessary to get their ego fed.

    – When we feed the ego of a proud person,
      we are belittling ourselves.
      Question:
      How?
           – We feed their ego in order to get their acceptance.
           – They praise us and give us attention
             so that we will feed their ego even more.
           – It becomes a circle of a feeding frenzy
             (to the exclusion of others).

    – We are the sons and daughters of the living God;
      we are His servants who walk before Him;
      we should have no arrogant pride in our life

    – Question:
      Can’t I be proud of doing a good job?
           – Yes. Wanting to do a good job is admirable.
           – We can be grateful to God
             for our ability to do a good job.
          – We can thank Him for it;
             for giving us the skills we need.
           – It should be gratitude and thanksgiving,
             but not arrogant pride.

6. We make foolish mistakes.
     – This is why God says we will stumble.

     – We’ll make mistakes financially (“I can handle it”).

     – We’ll make mistakes in relationships
       (“It’s okay, I’m going to do it anyway”).

     – We’ll make mistakes because we stop
       seeking Godly wisdom and advice.

     – Our thinking becomes dangerous when…
           – We become so smart and so intelligent
             that we don’t need someone else’s help.
          – We don’t need anybody to be accountable to.
          – We don’t want to ask for someone else’s advice.
          – We think we can handle anything.

     – Everyone needs someone they are accountable to:
            – Someone who can ask anything they want to
              ask and we’ll give them an honest answer.
           – Someone who can give us wise, godly counsel.
           – Others can see things around us
              that we may not see; they can:
                    – Caution us.
                    – Lookout for us.
                   Note: We do that for our children.
                   Question:
                   Why?
                        – Because they have blind spots
                          (and so do we).

     – Satan’s traps can be anywhere – we may be aware
       of some of them, but we need others to see the ones
       we miss (and warn us about them).

7. We shut down the work of the Holy Spirit in our life.
     – The Holy Spirit is not going to work
       in the life of a proud person.

     – Satan will help us do well in what we do.
       Question:
       Why?
             – So he can convince us to NOT depend on God.

     – Sometimes we see people who are doing
       very well, but we know what’s coming;
       when we try to warn them, they turn us
       away by pointing out their successes.
      Note:
      An entire year passed before the
      results of Daniel’s dream came to pass.
      Look at the grace and love of God – He waited an
      entire year before judgment came to Nebuchadnezzar
      ….to give him a chance to turn from his pride.
      Note:
      Just because God doesn’t impact us early,
      doesn’t mean it isn’t coming.

8. It breeds prayerlessness.
    – A prayer-less person…
           – Is not going to be used effectively by God.
           – Will not walk Holy before God.
           – Will not have the impact God intended
              for them to have.

    – Prayer:
           – Keeps our attention on God.
           – Reminds us that we need Him.
           – Keeps us “connected” to Him.
           – Is the channel we use to communicate with Him.
           – Is the channel He uses to communicate with us
             (to remind us of our total dependence on Him).

    – Pride kills prayer in our life.

    – A prayer-less person is going to make mistakes.

    – Without prayer, we will sin because we lose our
      sensitivity and discernment to spot sin
      (when it is right in front of us).

9. God will put us on the shelf and not use us.
    – God begins to use a person, then pride enters
      their life, and God puts them on the shelf.
    – He doesn’t use them any more.
      Question:
      Why?
           – Because He hates pride and He is not
             going to honor the work in our life.

10. We lose our rewards because of our wrong motives

11. Pride keeps the unbeliever
      out of heaven (the ultimate consequence).
      – The unbeliever says, “I don’t need God”.
     Note:
     They say this even though God provides
     every breath for every person.

     – The unbeliever with pride thinks he or she…
            – Doesn’t need their Creator.
            – Doesn’t need their Savior.
            – Doesn’t need their Judge.
            – Doesn’t need the One who will
              determine where they will spend eternity.
           Note:
           This is the ultimate consequence
           of pride, egotism, and arrogance.