Guest Called Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Good Morning Saints! Today I want to deal with a tough one! This is something that Jesus often spoke out against: Self-righteousness! Proud People -Self-righteous; look down on others -Don't think they have anything to repent of -Don't think they need revival, but are sure that everyone else does Broken People -Esteem all others better than themselves -Realize they have need of a continual heart attitude of repentance -Continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit. First I want to share a passage from Luke that is a strong reminder of how much our Lord hates self-righteousness. Luke 11:37-54 37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. 39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. 42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 43 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it." 45 One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." 46 Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. 47 "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. 52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." 53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say. The focus of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thomas I believe Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 Self-righteous people lessen the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. They do not see a need to hide in the shadow of the cross, instead they hide in their "religious" words and actions. They hide in their puffed up pride and self-worth! is it no wonder that Jesus often rebuked the religious leaders of His day! This should be a lesson for us, to remain on guard and to examine our lives often to see if we are putting our faith in the blood of Jesus or in the works that we do! Remember, Christianity is a relationship not a religion! Debbie, I couldnt agree more with you, when we watch battles between churches, lets say the catholics vs lutherans for an example. They are fighting over religion, Doctrine,how big there congregations are ,how much money they bring in on the plate. I have seen this first hand. It saddens me that those that would lead the lambs would allow greed and envy to be part of their church. I have to be careful with my words here , I am not one to judge a church and religious leaders, but I cannot turn away from the truth that is clearly, there for all to see. Churches fail because of this. I agree everyday we must examine our motivation behind our actions , our words, our thoughts. Are they in Glorification of God or ourselves? Are we portraying Christ as His word tells us we must do ? I was very religious when I belonged to the catholic church and sad to say it got me no where. I'm not saying catholics can't be Christ like. Many are ! Lose the Religion and seek a complete relationship with Jesus is the only way and its a daily thing, sometimes hourly. The amount of years that we have been a christian does'nt matter. Its the depth of humilty as we grow each day closer to God that truly matters. In His Love and Peace, Michael :dove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shiloh357 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Thank you Debbie, that last post of yours was so refreshing!! I cannot help but say AMEN to all that you have written! This is blessing me immensely!! Self-righteous people lessen the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. They do not see a need to hide in the shadow of the cross, instead they hide in their "religious" words and actions. They hide in their puffed up pride and self-worth! is it no wonder that Jesus often rebuked the religious leaders of His day! This should be a lesson for us, to remain on guard and to examine our lives often to see if we are putting our faith in the blood of Jesus or in the works that we do! Remember, Christianity is a relationship not a religion! The Church needs to be kept in constant remembrance of that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted October 23, 2004 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 28 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 289 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/01/2004 Status: Offline Birthday: 01/01/1957 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Hi Debbie, yes you have touched on a very important topic for all people. I have a question for you. How do we recognize pride in our own lives. I mean what are the signs in our everyday life that should prompt us to reflect on what we say and do. Blessings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Called Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Hey Russell, you ask a difficult question because we so often do not recognize the pride in our own lives. For me it took a really good friend just asking me, "Is there pride in your life?" and it hit me like a ton of bricks. God just opened my eyes to how I had been my entire life! It really takes a revelation from God. However, I will try and give you some questions that someone can ask to see if maybe they are in pride. Do I worry and feel offense when my counsel and suggestions are ignored? Do I quickly challenge statements that underrate my abilities and attack my goodness? Do I feel great embarrassment when others, with less background, can answer questions that I cannot? Do I feel indignant with faultfinders who point out my misdeeds? Do I encourage compliments and praise? Do I quickly try to put people "in their place"? Do I shun correction and hate instruction, especially when it comes from the less noble of the LORD's people? Do I belittle the deeds of others? I would also suggest you keep following this study and try to examine yourself based on the comparison's of proud vs. broken people. Do you fall more under the characteristics of the proud person? Ask God to reveal to you if you are in pride. He will. I know that through this God is revealing to me areas where I am lacking. I hope that I have adequately answered your question, God is still teaching me alot about this area. God Bless! Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kitkat Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Proud People Focus on the failures of others This is what I feel defines PROUD PROUD PEOPLE Seeking recognition or credit. (2 Kings 5:11-13, Isa. 10:13-16) Wish to be exalted. (Zeph. 2:10-15) Having all the answers, afraid to admit our inadequacies. (Ezek. 28:2-10) Comparing ourselves to others. (Luke 18:11, 2 Cor. 10:12) Not willing to admit our needs. (Rev. 3:17) Boastfulness. (Isa. 14:12-16) Placing our affections on things of the world can cause pride. (Ps 49:17-20) Not respecting or obeying God's Word. (2Chron. 26:15-21, Gen.3:5-6, 16-19) Feeling secure in our riches. (Psalms 49:17-20, Isa. 3:16-26) Feeling like you are in control. (Ezek. 30:6) THE WAY YOU OVERCOME BEING PROUD Phil. 2:3 Think of others as better than yourself. 1 Peter 5:5-6 Submit yourself, humble yourself. 1 Cor. 4:7 All good things come from God, don't boast. Deut. 8:10-18 Beware lest you forget God. Jer. 9:23-24 Don't boast, submit yourself to God. Matt. 5:3-5 "Be attitudes" Matt. 22:37-39 Think of God first and love your neighbor. Be God-conscious and others-conscious. Matt. 20:26-27 Minister to others as a servant. Isaiah 47:7-10 God will destroy the objects of pride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Posted October 23, 2004 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 28 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 289 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/01/2004 Status: Offline Birthday: 01/01/1957 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Hey Russell, you ask a difficult question because we so often do not recognize the pride in our own lives. For me it took a really good friend just asking me, "Is there pride in your life?" and it hit me like a ton of bricks. God just opened my eyes to how I had been my entire life! It really takes a revelation from God. However, I will try and give you some questions that someone can ask to see if maybe they are in pride. Do I worry and feel offense when my counsel and suggestions are ignored? Do I quickly challenge statements that underrate my abilities and attack my goodness? Do I feel great embarrassment when others, with less background, can answer questions that I cannot? Do I feel indignant with faultfinders who point out my misdeeds? Do I encourage compliments and praise? Do I quickly try to put people "in their place"? Do I shun correction and hate instruction, especially when it comes from the less noble of the LORD's people? Do I belittle the deeds of others? I would also suggest you keep following this study and try to examine yourself based on the comparison's of proud vs. broken people. Do you fall more under the characteristics of the proud person? Ask God to reveal to you if you are in pride. He will. I know that through this God is revealing to me areas where I am lacking. I hope that I have adequately answered your question, God is still teaching me alot about this area. God Bless! Debbie Some very insightful answers there Debbie. Proverbs tells us in 13v10 (NIV) "Pride only breeds quarrels, But wisdom is found in those who take advice." Trying to see pride in our everyday lives is significant....for if we can recognize it for what it is...we can then allow the Holy Spirit to change that proud and stubborn spirit within us...that so often afflicts us and is the breeding ground of QUARRELS. Might I add that it is not us that recognises it.... but rather the Spirit of YHWH working in us... that speaks to us. How blessed we are in these situations for we can then begin to humble ourselves over these thoughts....aligning ourselves closer to Christ Remember the Israelites and how God often called them stiffnecked and stubborn....if only they were in a state of mind to recognize their own pride ...they would not have felt the heavy hand of God's judgment upon them....and would have been an example for all nations. Blessings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest antitox Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 (edited) I have found that pride not only comes in alot of different packages, but cloaked under different things. It is common in intellectual people who pride themselves on being right, or simpler folk that may have an ability of some type who hold onto that one ability as their centerpiece of self-respect. There was a Christian who I knew for awhile who had a very bad pride problem and he kept it cloaked under false humility (religious humility). I could tell by the way he conducted himself in our self-defense class. When I met him, he seemed ok at first, but then I started to notice a streak of pride in some things he spoke about himself, yet at church he seemed focused on worshipping God and you would think he was humble. Later, he ended up being confronted by the leadership because of an e-mail he sent to the church office that contained questionable things in it and he withstood them when they spoke with him (threatened to get violent), so they had a restraining order against him and he cannot attend that church anymore. There may have been threats in that e-mail. But the point is, pride shows up for what it is, eventually. If we are mentally alert, we can usually spot elements of it early on. Brokenness is usually hard to come by because a person has to go through hardship to attain it. It's very easy to spot because you hardly ever see it in full form. There are only a few people I have seen over the years that show brokenness in most areas of their lives. I think with most of us, we may have it in some areas, but not all. So it's a process, like working out your salvation that one experiences more of life and it's difficulties and becomes a more broken vessel. Edited October 24, 2004 by antitox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi4Yahweh Posted October 24, 2004 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 75 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1,955 Content Per Day: 0.26 Reputation: 636 Days Won: 1 Joined: 11/12/2003 Status: Offline Share Posted October 24, 2004 Called, Can you give us a text book definition of the term Broken? I know we have all have heard it used many times but what does it really mean? I don't think many people understand what it means even though they may have heard it many times. Does it mean that your broken in the since that you do not function as in a broken toy? Does it mean that you broken in the since that your like a glass that has been broken into many pieces? Does it mean broken as in a horse that that has been broken? Meaning that one has been domesticated or tamed. What exactly do you mean by broken? I think I know what your talking about but maybe others do not. This may be another one of those spiritual clich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Called Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Called, Can you give us a text book definition of the term Broken? I know we have all have heard it used many times but what does it really mean? I don't think many people understand what it means even though they may have heard it many times. Does it mean that your broken in the since that you do not function as in a broken toy? Does it mean that you broken in the since that your like a glass that has been broken into many pieces? Does it mean broken as in a horse that that has been broken? Meaning that one has been domesticated or tamed. What exactly do you mean by broken? I think I know what your talking about but maybe others do not. This may be another one of those spiritual clich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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