Cedarcrest Church
Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Pride (Week 3)
Pride– Living for our glory instead of God’s glory
Pride is finding my joy in the praise of men rather than in the glory of God.
The Origin of Pride
Isaiah 14:13-15
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
The defining characteristic of the enemy of God
The roots of pride are rebellion and insecurity
Rebellion says my life is better lived without authority
Pride always causes us to walk away from God
The goal of the devil is to rob God of His glory
Pride on full display
Genesis 11:1-9
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
v4 Living for the glory of ourselves
v5 Man’s self exaltation will never match God’s glory
v7 Pride always leads to destruction
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
v8 The proud are opposed by God
James 4:6
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Those who are willing to acknowledge their need for a Savior will receive a Savior
v9 Prophecy of the final judgement
Revelation 18:10
10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
Foreshadowing what is to come for Babylon
God’s Glory on Display
Philippians 2:8-11
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Question:
Will I choose to bow to Christ in worship?
or
Will I be forced to bow to Christ in judgement?