Pride - Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Wow, talk about humbling. God becomes a man. How humbling is that? It's worse than you and I becoming a slut.

I think I'll be a slut. He became, but not any man. He became the servant of all men. The bondservant idea is the slave.

Do I? He became the slave of everybody. He'll humble himself further. And not only that, he'll go to the cross and die for all men. That's what you and I should be.

I don't think you and I would ever have to humble ourselves anything close to this degree. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. There's no more difficult thing to be in that time in history in that part of the world than to be a leper. Lepers live in isolated existence, completely isolated from everybody.

Every friend you ever had, family members, you don't go near anyone. You're usually put in a leper colony, and that's your life. Here he is, this great king, and man, you think you got humbled there, wouldn't you? I mean, that's an act of humility, what God did to him. And so the question comes down, you know, Proverbs says this, the book of Proverbs says, pride comes before the fall. And boy, he fell. I mean, this is a terrible thing on his part. From you and I, what does this mean?

To me, I'd say at least one thing. Please, don't take all the credit for what you've accomplished. Do not do that.

Do not do that. Where did you get your IQ from? Oh, you just made it. You had strong wood, so you raised your IQ 100 points, right? Oh, no, that's not possible, is it?

Where did you get that from? See, what about your gene pool? What do you have to do with your gene pool, please? Tell me what you did. You didn't do anything, did you?

You see how this works. It doesn't matter what we're talking about. What about your abilities? Your ability to make money, invest well.

What about your personality? What about over the course of your life, your connections that helped you succeed in whatever you did? What about all the people that helped you?

What about all that? Did you do that or did God do that? Who made you different than everyone else?

Did you do that or did God do that? See, I mean, that's exactly what you see. We're all spiritual snowflakes, as I've said. You see, if you don't guard your own heart here, you and I are very susceptible to pride, especially when we succeed. You see, look what I did.

You see, based on our pride, look what I did. None of us do this on our own. James said every good gift comes from where? Hard work.

Right? Comes down from the Father of Lights. That's what God gives us. He gives us so many things. Was Uzziah a great king?

Yes. Why? Because what God had given him. And as long as he walked with the Lord, he was fine. And then when he didn't, he became full of pride and he's a leper.

That's a bad way of dealing with it. I want you to go with me now to Philippians chapter three in the New Testament and verse three, Philippians three and verse three. Paul is now talking to the Philippian church.

He's in prison. He loves the Philippians. They are, by and large, a pagan church who came to Christ. They're Gentiles. You see, they were they were idol worshippers. They were pagans. And here comes this Jewish apostle and he leads them to Christ.

And now he wants the right to them. And so he ends up saying this in verse three. He said, for we, the Jews, are the true circumcision who worship in the Spirit of God and the glory in Christ Jesus.

And we put no confidence in the flesh. Now, what Paul is saying is this in a sense. You have to understand you're Gentiles. But I'm Jewish. You see, and you say, well, is there any advantage in being a zoo? Yeah.

Yeah. He said, I'm Jewish. I'm of the true circumcision. Now, what is the circumcision? Well, the circumcision is the sign that you belong to God that was given to Abraham. And so all Jewish males, all Jewish males are circumcised on the eighth day.

And that proves that they're set aside. I'll bet in the Philippian church, it wasn't a person circumcised with the Gentiles, but it was for the Jews. So Paul said, I just want to let you know where I come from versus where you come from. He said, although I myself, I might have confidence in my flesh. In other words, Paul said, you know what, if you want to have spiritual pride, I'm your guy. I have a lot to be proud of.

Interesting. He said, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I probably more. Whatever you've accomplished in the flesh, I in my flesh accomplish more than you've ever done. He said, I was circumcised on the eighth day. Just as I said, all Jews have to be. Then he says, of the nation Israel.

Is that special? Well, how many nations does God call his own? In fact, what are the Jews called always?

They are what kind of people? Chosen. I'm part of the chosen people. And guess who chose me? God.

That's a pretty good choice. I was chosen by God. That's who I am. I'm from Israel.

I was chosen by God. And he said, I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. Now, if you're a Jew, I'll tell you what it means to be of the tribe of Benjamin. There were Jews that have always existed who weren't from the tribe of Benjamin and told people they were of the tribe of Benjamin. Why?

Prestige. Benjamites are the top of the line. They're the aristocracy of the 12 tribes. Benjamin. You see, if you're a Benjamin, Benjamin, remember the last of the 12 tribes? He and Joseph, his brother, both of the same mother, the one that you see, the one that Jacob loved. And so Benjamites are considered the top of the line.

In fact, one of their mottos, when they go into battle, guess who leads? Benjamites. I was a Benjamite. Not just a Jew, I'm a Benjamite. Then he goes on and he says, I was a Hebrew among the Hebrews. Can't get more Jewish than me. I'm as Jewish as a man can possibly be. My parents are Jewish. I'm Jewish.

I go by all Jewish traditions. I'm a Jew's Jew. Not just a Jew, but a Jew's Jew.

He said, that's who I am. Then he goes on and says, as to the law, Pharisee. Now, I know you have a prejudice against him because you've read the New Testament, but you wouldn't if you lived in Israel. Pharisees are the most respected men in Israel by a mile. A Jewish mother, as I've said in the past, the Jewish mother would pray that her daughter would be fortunate enough to marry a Pharisee. The most dedicated men to Judaism on the planet. He said, I was a Pharisee.

Wow. By the way, it also turned out, as you read before, he's the son of a Pharisee. I'm a Pharisee Pharisee. He said, and as to zeal, what kind of engaged Pharisee was he? I persecuted the church.

No, no, as a religious Jew, that's the highest standard you could have. He persecuted the church. Wow. When Stephen was martyred in the Book of Acts, guess who was there affirming it? And I believe leading it. Solve Tarsus. Let's execute him.

You know what? Sanhedrin would say about that or the priesthood. Way to go, Paul, or Saul. Way to go, Saul. You are such a righteous man.

You're getting rid of these people. Now, hold your place here and go with me for a moment back to the Book of Acts chapter 22. The Book of Acts chapter 22.

Now, watch. Paul was back in Jerusalem. He decided he wanted to go back to Jerusalem because he loved Jews so much that he wanted to see if he could lead him to Christ.

I believe it was a mistake on his part. He was even told by the Spirit of God not to go back in the Book of Acts. He's the great apostle to the Gentiles. But Paul goes back, so here he is speaking to the Jewish people.

By the way, it didn't go well for him, and he had to be rescued by the Romans, who then took him back to Rome. He says, brethren and fathers, hear my defense, which I now offer you. He says, when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. Paul didn't just talk like a Jew.

I think you'll know what I mean when I say this. He talked like a very educated Jew. He's an extraordinarily bright man. It says to them, listen, I'm a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cecilia and brought up in this city. By the way, what was his name? Saul, right? You know why his name was Saul?

Very likely. He's named after the first king, Saul, who is a Benjamite. So his parents probably said, that's an honored name.

I'm going to call him Saul of Tarsus. He said then, educated under Gamaliel. And you say, well, what's that mean? Ph.D., Harvard. The greatest rabbi teacher in their world is Gamaliel.

That's who taught me. Wow. Strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are here today. I persecuted the way to death, binding and putting both men and women in prisons. As also the high priest and all the council of the elders, which is the Sanhedrin, can testify. From them I received letters to the brethren and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished.

Wow. He talks about death. He does in Acts 26 too when he's doing it again. Paul killed Christians. He hunted them down and killed them. Think of this.

He went from Jerusalem all the way to Damascus. Why? I heard there are Christians there and I'm going to get them, bring them back, put them in prison. That's his religious zeal. Now you and I think it's a terrible thing. But from a religion point of view of Judaism, this is a poster boy. This guy is a great, great Jew.

Okay. Now we can go back to Philippians. He says, as the zeal or persecutor of the church, as the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. He doesn't mean he's sinless. He's blameless. What he means is in every external way that you look at a Jewish person, do they externally keep the Jewish tradition and laws?

Paul said 100%. I didn't fail at anything. As to the outward appearance as a faultless Jew, that's me. Now, here's his but. But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as a loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in the view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. I count them but rubbish so that I can gain Christ. Paul said, everything I've ever accomplished is literally done. It's done.

Everything I did, done. Notice no pride. It doesn't even compare to knowing Christ. None of it is worthy. He said, and may be found in him not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed, he says, to his death in order that I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Everything I was proud about is done, rubbish, garbage. None of it is a blessing to me for knowing Christ.

That's the difference completely. All the things I did will never make me righteous. Only knowing Christ will.

Not comparable. I'm sure someone taught him early on that Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one will ever come to the Father but through me. Paul believed with all his heart in faith and faith alone and in Christ and Christ alone. Here's a man who said, I could have really been proud, but I'm not. The only thing I'm proud of is Jesus Christ my Lord. Well, no wonder then he wrote over in chapter 2, a little bit before this, the things that he said.

Watch what he says in verse 2, 2-2. Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit in ten on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. So how many things can we do from selfishness or pride? He said, zero.

Now, here's a man who had done a lot. No, can't do anything from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. So who's more important than Paul to Paul? Everybody. Everybody. Every single person.

But get this, he's telling us to do that. Everybody you meet is more important than you. Everybody in this body is more important than you.

Do you see it that way? Come on, got to be honest here, see? You have to be honest. I mean, honestly, you're going to say, look, I want to believe that, but I know I'm better than that guy. You know, I know, come on, let's measure.

I know I am. Paul said you shouldn't act like that. You should be humble. You see, put on humility. He said, let me say it this way. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ, who although he existed in the form of God, by the way, could Jesus Christ be proudful?

Let me think. He's God incarnate. Think he could have any pride? He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. He emptied himself.

There's the kenosis of the Book of Philippians. He emptied himself of his divine prerogatives. He could have done anything. He said, I'll empty myself with that. He took on the form of a bondservant, being made in the likeness of men. Being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Wow, talk about humbling. God becomes a man.

How humbling is that? It's worse than you and I becoming a slug. I think I'll be a slug. He became a, but not any man. He became the servant of all men. The bondservant idea is a slave. He became the slave of everybody. He'll humble himself further.

And not only that. He'll go to the cross and die for all men. That's what you and I should be. I don't think you and I would ever have to humble ourselves anything close to this degree.

And notice then what happens. For this reason, God highly exalted him and bestowed him a name above every name. So here's the Son of God humbling himself to the greatest degree. And what does God do with him? He exalts him. Here's Uzziah, this great king, with all the blessings he had, became proudful in what did God do with him?

Struck him with leprosy. You see the difference of what is done here. Only humility can praise God, not pride. So I'm going to leave you with four questions. And these questions don't come from me. They come from Jesus. But it doubts to describe whether you're a proudful or a humble person.

The first one is this. It's in Matthew 18. Am I willing to come to Christ as a child?

Because Jesus said this. If you don't come as a child, by the way, you don't come. Well, how does a child come? What does a child bring?

Nothing, except one thing. Trust. Just simple trust. That's what a child would do. Children trust. By the way, if you have a child that loves you, did you ever notice the first time that you're at the end of the pool and they're at the edge or something? And they say, jump.

What does a typical kid do? I don't know what's going to happen, but here we go. And out he goes. He didn't say, wait, wait, how deep's this pool? How well do you swim?

You say, how long will my face be under water? Children trust. He said, yeah, you have to come to Christ that way. If you're not, you see, you're not Christian.

That's the preemptive. I only have faith. That's all a child has. He doesn't have the intellect. He doesn't have the past accomplishments. He just has faith. Secondly, are you willing to be last for God?

Are you willing? I didn't say to be not first, last. Because Jesus said that. He said, if you're going to follow me, the first have to be what? Last. You have to be last. Paul said you have to be the servant of everyone.

Consider everyone is more important than you. You see, what are they directing these thoughts at? At our pride. That's beneath me. Think of that.

We say that. That's beneath me. But it's fine for you.

I'll hire you to do it. It's beneath me. Where does that come from?

That's our pride. Thirdly, if I ever want to lead for Christ, Christ says I have to be the servant of all. In fact, Jesus went out of his way and said, you know how Gentiles lead? They lord it over people and they say I'm the boss.

You can't do that. You're going to have to be their servant. Wait a minute, I didn't get that in business school. You see what I mean? It's difficult for us because our culture has the Gentile version of leadership. Jesus says leadership is servanthood. That doesn't mean you don't have responsibility.

I get that. And the last one, am I willing to take up my cross and follow him? Before you say yeah, please understand what I mean by that. When Jesus said you need to take up your cross daily and follow me, it doesn't mean, that means I'm loyal to Jesus.

No, it means way more than that. When you were crucified by the Romans, what they would do is they had a cross beam and the post is in the ground. The cross beam is attached to the post when they crucify you. So they bring the cross beam. That's what Jesus carried through Jerusalem. He did not carry the whole cross.

He carried the cross beam. Now, when you do that, they want you to be affected in a certain way. Here's what happens. They give you the cross beam. They strip you naked. I mean naked. Not loincloth, naked. Then they hang your crime around your neck so everyone can read. And then they almost always want to sort of take you and switch back through the town so that everybody there can see you're going to be crucified and what for. Now, does that seem embarrassing? Humiliating?

Yes, that's what happened to the king of kings and Lord of lords. That's what happened to Jesus. He said, are you willing to take that kind of embarrassment and humiliation for me? Take up your cross and follow me because that's where I'm going.

Are you willing to do that? The only thing that can stop you from actually obeying his words is what? Your pride.

Oh, I don't think I'd do that. Jesus said, no, you need to do that. And so you have to examine your own hearts today. You have to ask yourself the question, am I proudful? Am I proudful? Or more importantly, do I meet these standards? Do I walk humbly before the Lord? You see, is there a humility about me? Only you can answer that.

Let's pray. Father, the problem that we have when we're proudful is we often never recognize it. We never see ourselves that way. But I'm afraid you do.

And even a lot of the time, others do. Father, I just ask you, through your spirit, convict our heart and ask ourselves the question, do I walk with pride or do I walk with humility before my Lord? In order to have the same attitude that he had in him should be in us. Father, I pray that we are obedient to this calling of humility. I pray it for our good and for your glory in Jesus' name.

Amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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