Expose the hidden pride in self and get the antidote

The biggest problem with pride, is our blindness to see and recognize it in ourself. (Final Quest – Rick Joyner) Pride become our biggest and last enemy to overcome the more holy and wise we become. 2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. The most likely interpretation of Paul’s thorn is not his eyesight, but the ignorant unbelief of the Jews. Lack of eyesight will not humble the power of the revelations, rather even enhance it. But when the people you are called to preach to, over and over reject the very revelation you have received, it really humbles you. Paulus verklaar eintlik self wat die doring was in v10: “Ek is dus tevrede met my swakhede, beledigings, ontberings, vervolgings en benoudhede ter wille van Christus, want wanneer ek swak is, juis dán is ek sterk.”
It is very hard to grow towards holiness, separate from sin and sinful lifestyle and remain in contact with the world to reach it and lead it out from captivity.
We cannot afford any pride because God opposes the proud: 1Pe 5:5; Jas 4:6; Pr 3:34. We are dependent on His grace and power, and can do nothing without Him. (Mat 5:3) “Gelukkig is dié mense wat weet hoe nodig hulle God het, want hulle het deel aan sy koninkryk.”

Definition: High importance of own dignity and importance. Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable feeling of superiority regarding one’s talents, beauty, wealth, rank, uniqueness and name.

Andrew Murray gave a near-perfect definition of humility:

Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.

The humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself, he simply does not think of himself at all.

The Navigators are well known for their emphasis on having a servant attitude. A businessman once asked Lorne Sanny, president of the Navigators, how he could know when he had a servant attitude. The reply: “By how you act when you are treated like one.”

In Charles Colson’s book Born Again, which details his experiences related to Watergate, Colson shares one of President Nixon’s problems-he could never admit he was wrong in anything. In fact, Colson says, even when Nixon obviously had a cold-nose running, face red, sneezing, all the symptoms-he would never admit it.

PRIDE. An attitude of self-exaltation which, in its conceit of superiority, arrogantly tramples on other, and, in its independence of spirit, self-sufficiently rebels against God. The OT usage of nine Heb. words indicates the universality, nature, effects, and condemnation of pride (cf. Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible.

The NT revelation concerning pride is conveyed by three Gr. words which indicate much about the nature and operations of pride. They occur together in an alternate form in Rom 1:30.

1. Gr. alazoneia (boastful in words) refers to the pretension and arrogance of the alazon (“boasters,” Rom 1:30; II Tim 3:2), the proud and pretentious braggart who peddles words for his own profit, promising what the cannot perform. It describes the man who ignores the sovereignty of God by attempting to control his own present life (I Jn 2:16) and to shape his own future (Jas 4:16).
2. Gr. hyperephania (proud and overbearing in thoughts describes the man who exalts himself above others, not in outward blustering actions but in inward attitude of heart by erecting an altar to himself in his heart and worshiping there (“proud,” Rom. 1:30; II Tim 3:2; Lk 1:51; Jas 4:6; I Pet 5:5; cf. Mk 7:22).
3. Gr. hybris (insolent and injurious in actions) is the pride which makes a man act with violent, wanton insolence against both God and man. Regarding God, hybris leads man to forget his creaturehood and to exalt himself against God. Regarding the insolent treatment of other men, hybris allows the passions to rule so that superiority to others is achieved by injuring them (II Cor 12:10). In Mt 22:6 hybris refers to man’s insolent rejection of God’s invitation. (The noun form occurs in Rom 1:30 as “despiteful,” and in I Tim 1:13 as “injurious”; the verb is found in Mt 22:6; Lk 11:45; 18:32; Acts 14:5, I Thess 2:2; Tit 1:11.) See Georg Bertram, “Hybris, etc.,” TDNT, VIII, 295-307.

The believer is taught in Scripture that pride was the sin of Satan (I Tim 3:6); that it deceives the heart (Jer 49:16) and hardens the mind Dan 5:20); that it is an abomination to God which He hates (Prov 16:5; 6:16-17) and which He will bring into judgment (Prov 16:18). Thus he should realize the absolute necessity for the Holy Spirit to impart to him the mind of Christ, who is the supreme example of humility and who is free from every form of evil pride in word, in thought, and in action.

EVERYTHING WE HAVE IS A GIFT

Ephesians 2:9 Dit kom nie deur julle eie verdienste nie, en daarom het niemand enige rede om op homself trots te wees nie.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

THE POWER OF ASSOCIATION
Many people seek to associate with the powerful and influential to gain prominence themselves. “Who knows who” & “Who is who” God shows us to do things without seeking profit and selfish gain.
Jesus associated with sinners, without sinning.
Rom 12:16 associate with the humble. “but condescend to men of low estate” 4879. συναπάγω sunapágō = to lead or carry away in a positive sense, not minding high things but led by lowly things, which means cultivating humility

THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THE POOR: WHO WAS JESUS’ FOCUS OF MINISTRY?
(Mat 11:5; Luk 4:18) “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
“Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5 NASB).
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong” (1 Cor. 1:27 NASB).
“And the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God” (1Co 1:26-31). NB
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty, not many noble” (1 Cor. 1:26 NASB).
“It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32 NASB).
“How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24–25 NASB).

COMPARING
Comparing is a work of the flesh that leads to disillusionment, losing the riches of your own unique calling. Kan die kleipot vir sy maker sê: “Wat maak jy?” Isa 45:9
There are all kinds of people, God loves us all, and gave His Son for all, so that all can come to salvation. (1 Tim 2:4; Joh 3:16,17; 1 Tim 4:10) Christ is in all. (Col 3:11; Joh 1:3; Col 1:16, 17) Seek Christ in the sinner!

God values our lives:
Not on how much we have gathered, but how much we have given.
Not on how popular we are, but do the demons know of us.
Not how rich we are, but how many people we have enriched.
Not how beautiful we are how but how we have beautified the world and people we touch.
Not on how much knowledge we have, but how much we have applied what we know, teaching others.
Not how much we have accomplished, but how much was accomplished by our friends because of us.
Not on how much we have sacrificed but have we fulfilled our obedience

THE PRIDE OF DISTANCE

o God, ek dank U dat ek nie soos die ander mense is nie. This usually happens when we do not really know a person, we have no understanding of their journey, perspective and suffering. “Thank God I’m not like them…” Lk 18:9-14 Remember we are all sinners (Rom 3:23)
Just as a bat hears things I can’t hear, and a dog smells things I can’t smell, and a bee sees things I can’t see, and a bird feels magnetic pulls I can’t feel, my perception of the world is limited to my range of gifts. Embodiment is key to cognition, since different bodily experiences give us different thoughts and perspectives. For a true picture of Christ, I need to incorporate the multicultural sounds and sights and smells and touches of other ethnic embodiments. Christianity reconceives itself in light of each incarnation. Excerpt From: ” So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church” by Leonard Sweet. Scribd.

HANDLE PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY:
Jesus treated everyone the same, beggars, blind, poor, lepers, tax collectors, samaritans. James 2:1-14 Beware of personal Favoritism Leviticus 19:15
Deuteronomy 1:17 God wants righteous Judges and judgement.

THE PRIDE OF KNOWLEDGE:
1 Cor 8:1 Die kennis maak opgeblase, maar die liefde stig.
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 laat hom dwaas word, sodat hy wys kan word
Jeremiah 9:23–24 So sê die HERE: Laat die wyse hom nie beroem op sy wysheid nie
Chip and Dan Heath tell of an interesting Ph.D. study conducted at Stanford in 1990 based on a simple game of tapping songs.¹ There were two roles for people to play in this experiment: “tappers” and “listeners.” The tappers were each given twenty- five well- known songs such as “Happy Birthday to You ” and told to tap the melody on a table. Listeners were to guess the name of the song. It sounds simple enough. In the experiment, a total of 120 songs were tapped out. The listeners guessed right on only 2.5 percent of the songs. The listeners succeeded in guessing the right song 3 tries out of 120. What was remarkable about the study, and what merits repeating the story here, is that the tappers were asked to predict their success prior to tapping. They estimated that the listeners would figure it out 50 percent of the time. How could they be so far off? That is what is so interesting in the study. Excerpt From: “Church 3.0: Upgrades for the Future of the Church ” by Neil Cole. Scribd.

WE OVERCOME PRIDE BY OBEYING THESE COMMANDS OF HUMILITY WITH MEEKNESS:

1. OBEDIENCE is the fruit of humility. Procrasination and apapthy the fruit of pride. Philippians 2:8  When saving someone who is drowning, you need to hit them unconscious when they do not obey, in order to save them. Thus saving the person is so much easier when the patient follows exact instructions.
2. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3 Always check your motives.
3. Outdo one another in showing honour Rom 12:10
4. Associate with the humble. Rom 12:16
5. Keep to your own business (2 Thes 3:11; 1 Tim 5:13)
6. Do not concern myself with too difficult matters Ps 131:1
7. Do not retaliate when wronged Num 12:3; Mat 5:38, 39
8. Do not be wise in your own opinion Rom 12:16 Beterwetig… erken soms “ek weet nie”
9. Quickly repent without condemnation Mat 5:25  As soon as we fall into a fault, or have wandered, we must turn again within ourselves; because this fault having turned us from God, we should as soon as possible turn towards Him, and suffer the penitence which He Himself will give. It is of great importance that we should not be anxious about these faults, because the anxiety only springs from a secret pride and a love of our own excellence. Excerpt From: “A Short Method of Prayer & Spiritual Torrents” by Madame Guyon. Scribe
10. Bear another’s burdens Gal 6:2
11. Do not isolate yourself from people. Pro 18:1. Nehemiah, Moses, Daniel associate themselves with their people in intersession. “Forgive us” When we see the church err, we should judge a matter directly and follow the path set in Mat 18.  But never distant ourselves… Knowing that we also can fall in error.  1 Cor 10:12. So baie mense is teleurgestel met kerk, hulle bly eerder by die huis, wil nie meer deel vd gemors wees nie.  Dit is ‘n strategie van die duiwel, want jy AWOL “missing in action” Daar is nie ‘n perfekte kerk nie. As jy wil kritiseer oor wat fout is, begin jou eie gemeente en sien dit is nie maklik nie.
12. Engage: Jesus did not need anyone, friends or disciples to fulfil His ministry, he is God! Yet he chose men from every walk of life to accompany Him, and become His witnesses and disciples. It is people’s pride that keeps them from joining the feebleness of a local church. Jy kan nie die krag van kerk ontvang deur sosiale media nie: die krag van kerk is samekoms. Waar 2 of 3 in my naam vergader is. Sosiale media en TV maak jou ‘n toeskouer van iemand ander se kerk, maar jy deel nie mee nie.  Kerk is konfrontasie, engage, neem aanstoot en werk daardeur tot groei by al die partye.  Dis verhoudings! Ons moderne samelewing is arm aan diep en betekenisvolle verhoudings, waar mense inspraak in mekaar se lewe het.  Waar ons mekaar kan korrigeer, leer en reghelp.  Spring in die rivier, hou op om net jou toon in die water te sit, en die temperatuur te voel.  Raak deel, maak kontak, skakel in, betaal ‘n prys, en jy sal baie vinniger geestelik groei na volwassenheid in Jesus.  Trots weerhou ons om hierdie stap te neem, ons wil eers reg voel… Daai gevoel is trots!

Gaan en doen wat Jesus gesê het!!!