February 9th, 2024
by Bob DeFelice
by Bob DeFelice
We’ve been in a Sermon Series called D.I.E.-2-S.E.L.F. – and we are up to the second ”E” (in the acronym) – and it stands for EGO.
Ego isn’t necessarily a bad thing – It is our “self” - the seat of our Soul – but when the direction of our EGO heads towards – “Egotism” – (an inflated sense of self-importance – or Pride). Pride must be dealt with decisively - if we are to die to self, we must crucify it completely. Take it out back and shoot it.
Pride says “my will” – not “Thy will” - be done. Throughout the Bible we see that this – “disobedience” can have far-reaching consequences. Saul the King - learned this with the Amalekites. God told him to completely eliminate them - even all their livestock – (everyone and everything - nothing and no-one left over) Yet – Saul let his pride rule the day. There was a reason – God wanted the Amalekites completely gone … and the reason begins in Exodus 17 and ends in the Book of Esther. Back - when Moses and the Israelites were escaping Egypt - Amalek came out to annihilate the Jews - you may recall … this was the battle - when Moses held up his hands and Joshua the Warrior (a type of Jesus) and the people were winning – when his hands went down they were losing – so Aaron and Hur came along and helped Moses hold his hands up before God) – so they succeeded in that battle – that day. But satan always waits for a “more opportune time” to attack – and now nearly five hundred (500) years later – God instructs Saul through Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Yet Saul in his flesh, in his 'pride-of-life' (Egotism) - he did not obey God. He said ... 'he kind-of' did –well? “mostly”? – he said to Samuel he did. (but oh - right I spared King Agag and the best of the livestock – probably some other folks too -1Sam 15:14) – He almost ... but not quite obeyed God to utterly destroy them. Partial obedience is still – disobedience. The consequences of his prideful rebellion – were three-fold –
Interestingly - Mordecai and Esther were of the same house as Saul they were Benjamites (1 Sam 9:21; Est. 2:5). The intention of the Amalekites – to wipe out the Jews lived on in Haman.
Who said history doesn’t repeat itself ? - They (Mordecai and Esther) humbled themselves (whereby Saul hadn’t) and (though it meant certain death to them) they obeyed God. Ironically - Haman met his end on the very gallows he’d built for Mordecai. God always has a plan and a purpose far more reaching than we could ever know. He sees six hundred (600) years into the future and already knows what we can not see – He sees the consequences of all of our actions – far in advance – those things done either in obedience or in rebellion. These have real life consequences and that's why God counts obedience better than sacrifice.
We see - in Esther and Mordecai - that the only way to break out of the "Prison of Pride" - and set our “Humility” - free - is to be willing to lay down one's "life" (pride). We see that thinking in Esther’s life. She overcame Pride (and the fear of losing her life) by humbling herself to approach the King. That is the very essence of dying to oneself - our Pridefulness has to be utterly destroyed. She faced her greatest fear - death - and didn't die as she imagined she might - but yet something did die that day ... it was - her pride. Humility always wins. (Est. 8; 9,9:25).
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” ~ Proverbs 16:18-19
Many times, we are like Saul - who told Samuel- “well you know these people around me - pressured me to spare the loot”. Peer pressure and the court of Public Opinion many times - defines how our EGO decides what is right and what is wrong and the direction to go in. We can tend to choose what is expedient in the face of our circumstances. Many times, I can fall into that trap of wanting to look good to others (to put on a good face - a good show) but- that’s not what God is after in me.
We can fear man more than God. Or at least many times we fear others’ opinions of us more than God's. I defined Sanctification last week as not just “Getting Right” with God but being “Real With God” - when we are being real ... honest - humble - forthright - God has something to work with.
But if in our pride we ... say we have 'NO SIN' - (we kind of did what was right) we trick ourselves. (1 John 1:8) So if we are putting on fronts to raise self in the eyes of others (or ourselves) this is pride. We are in the flesh. It’s why Paul instructed the people at Philippi to … “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; don’t look just to your interest but for the interests of others. and to Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,” - Philippians 2:3-6
I like how Charles Stanley puts it - To have - Humility is to have - “An attitude of dependence - as we recognize that all we have is a gift of God.”
"to obey is better than sacrifice," 1 Sam 15:22
God knows our deal. The whole deal. Give it to Him humbly! It is only in Jesus Christ that we may overcome our pride. (Proverbs 3:5&6)
Amen!
Ego isn’t necessarily a bad thing – It is our “self” - the seat of our Soul – but when the direction of our EGO heads towards – “Egotism” – (an inflated sense of self-importance – or Pride). Pride must be dealt with decisively - if we are to die to self, we must crucify it completely. Take it out back and shoot it.
Pride says “my will” – not “Thy will” - be done. Throughout the Bible we see that this – “disobedience” can have far-reaching consequences. Saul the King - learned this with the Amalekites. God told him to completely eliminate them - even all their livestock – (everyone and everything - nothing and no-one left over) Yet – Saul let his pride rule the day. There was a reason – God wanted the Amalekites completely gone … and the reason begins in Exodus 17 and ends in the Book of Esther. Back - when Moses and the Israelites were escaping Egypt - Amalek came out to annihilate the Jews - you may recall … this was the battle - when Moses held up his hands and Joshua the Warrior (a type of Jesus) and the people were winning – when his hands went down they were losing – so Aaron and Hur came along and helped Moses hold his hands up before God) – so they succeeded in that battle – that day. But satan always waits for a “more opportune time” to attack – and now nearly five hundred (500) years later – God instructs Saul through Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Yet Saul in his flesh, in his 'pride-of-life' (Egotism) - he did not obey God. He said ... 'he kind-of' did –well? “mostly”? – he said to Samuel he did. (but oh - right I spared King Agag and the best of the livestock – probably some other folks too -1Sam 15:14) – He almost ... but not quite obeyed God to utterly destroy them. Partial obedience is still – disobedience. The consequences of his prideful rebellion – were three-fold –
- Saul lost the Kingdom. (1 Sam 15:28)
- Saul lost the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. (1Sam16:14)
- Saul enabled Haman (though they’d never met) to rise to a position of power and nearly cause - the extermination of the entire Jewish people – six hundred (600) years later.
Interestingly - Mordecai and Esther were of the same house as Saul they were Benjamites (1 Sam 9:21; Est. 2:5). The intention of the Amalekites – to wipe out the Jews lived on in Haman.
Who said history doesn’t repeat itself ? - They (Mordecai and Esther) humbled themselves (whereby Saul hadn’t) and (though it meant certain death to them) they obeyed God. Ironically - Haman met his end on the very gallows he’d built for Mordecai. God always has a plan and a purpose far more reaching than we could ever know. He sees six hundred (600) years into the future and already knows what we can not see – He sees the consequences of all of our actions – far in advance – those things done either in obedience or in rebellion. These have real life consequences and that's why God counts obedience better than sacrifice.
We see - in Esther and Mordecai - that the only way to break out of the "Prison of Pride" - and set our “Humility” - free - is to be willing to lay down one's "life" (pride). We see that thinking in Esther’s life. She overcame Pride (and the fear of losing her life) by humbling herself to approach the King. That is the very essence of dying to oneself - our Pridefulness has to be utterly destroyed. She faced her greatest fear - death - and didn't die as she imagined she might - but yet something did die that day ... it was - her pride. Humility always wins. (Est. 8; 9,9:25).
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.” ~ Proverbs 16:18-19
Many times, we are like Saul - who told Samuel- “well you know these people around me - pressured me to spare the loot”. Peer pressure and the court of Public Opinion many times - defines how our EGO decides what is right and what is wrong and the direction to go in. We can tend to choose what is expedient in the face of our circumstances. Many times, I can fall into that trap of wanting to look good to others (to put on a good face - a good show) but- that’s not what God is after in me.
We can fear man more than God. Or at least many times we fear others’ opinions of us more than God's. I defined Sanctification last week as not just “Getting Right” with God but being “Real With God” - when we are being real ... honest - humble - forthright - God has something to work with.
But if in our pride we ... say we have 'NO SIN' - (we kind of did what was right) we trick ourselves. (1 John 1:8) So if we are putting on fronts to raise self in the eyes of others (or ourselves) this is pride. We are in the flesh. It’s why Paul instructed the people at Philippi to … “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; don’t look just to your interest but for the interests of others. and to Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,” - Philippians 2:3-6
I like how Charles Stanley puts it - To have - Humility is to have - “An attitude of dependence - as we recognize that all we have is a gift of God.”
"to obey is better than sacrifice," 1 Sam 15:22
God knows our deal. The whole deal. Give it to Him humbly! It is only in Jesus Christ that we may overcome our pride. (Proverbs 3:5&6)
Amen!
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