While it may not be vogue to ponder the things God says he hates, it would do us well if we are to be people resolved to please him. It should not be hard for most of us to recall the repulsions at the top of God’s list. For the Creator has repeatedly
Real worship is not easy. The difficulty is usually commensurate with the amount of pride in our hearts. Worship is hard because it requires that we attribute to another what our flesh desires to receive – the credit! At the core of worship…
Pastor Mike answers questions about God, the Bible, and Christianity. Questions in this session: How do we discern pride in ourselves and others? Where did all the different ethnicities come from after the flood. What is the biblical view on the “age of accountability” How does Satan have any authority on earth if dominion is …
Real spiritual growth requires humility. An accurate understanding of truth and its appropriate application takes place in those who humbly recognize their need for truth and change. These are the Christians who have learned to…
Questions in this episode: – Thinking through the problem of eternal punishment, what do we do with the doctrine of hell? – Since Lucifer walked away from God because of his pride, what’s to say that man won’t do the same thing once we all get to heaven? – Does paying taxes to a …
We are prone to forget, especially as we compare our relative righteousness, that our salvation is all of grace. We must never fail to remember that everything about our lives – our spiritual efforts, our moral resumes and our celebrated accomplishments – are all exchanged for Christ’s. Our salvation is secured in the same way
Earthly powers will always be subject to the sovereign judgment of God, our job is to humbly serve the King of Kings and promote his greatness throughout the earth.
We must be careful to never allow our quest to bear the fruit of the Spirit to become a prideful or competitive endeavor.
Here is one of the most simple, yet most serious warnings found in the Bible: “God is opposed to the proud” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). The last thing we as God’s children should want is to dabble in the archetypal sin that was the initial cause of all the rebellion and corruption in the universe (Ezekiel 28:14-17). We are shown in God’s word that pride’s antithesis and remedy is the fear of the Lord (Romans 11:20; Jeremiah 44:10; Proverbs 8:13). For those who have repented of their sins
We must be quick to rid ourselves any selfish ambition or self-promotion, knowing that we are required to sacrificially serve others in our calling to advance the cause of Christ in our world.
We must be vigilant and careful to not follow the trends of so many who attempt to leverage Christianity for their own selfish ends.
We must be careful not to presume upon the grace of God by expecting his salvation without possessing a kind of faith that values him and his will above the other loves and loyalties of this world.
Obtaining the grace of Christ and receiving the honor of service and reward in his kingdom all hinge on a humble awareness that we do not in any way deserve his favor, acceptance, or honor.
We must see the fundamental necessity of Christian humility, never promoting Christianity as a means in any way for self-promotion or self-aggrandizement.
We should be grateful for the foretaste of God’s power that is manifest through us in our evangelism that changes lives and toward us in our own salvation and personal transformation.
God would not have us spend time or energy trying to rank ourselves or our church with others, knowing we are all recipients of grace and that Christ will equitably commend each of us one day.
Christ should be our example in how we are to sacrificially love when people are difficult, trusting that God will faithfully reward those who imitate Christ.
We need to guard against Satan’s incessant temptation to have us seek greatness at the wrong time, in the wrong way, and for the glory of the wrong person.
God’s plan of salvation leaves no room for pride, self-promotion, or independence – the person and work of Christ should lead to profound humility and reliance on him.
As God begins to utilize us as his sold-out servants we need to vigorously fight our prideful tendency and see ourselves and all Christians as products of grace.
The Gospel benefits require a complete and total honesty about our guilt and culpability before God’s holy tribunal.
The teacher and the pupil must maintain a God-centered perspective when God has graciously granted us spiritual growth.
We cannot afford to pretend to be someone we are not. Exalt Christ, honor your siblings and forget about what people think of you.
God is so ready to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things when we’re ready to trust in him instead of ourselves.
We must never allow comfort or prosperity to keep us from a life of costly obedience!
We must avoid the subtle and damning suggestions of the enemy that entice us self-promotion!
Understanding grace should take the focus off of us and put it thankfully and confidently on God!
In the long run all “power plays” are futile! God gives it, maintains it, and takes it back when he wants to.
It’s an offense to God when Christians become power-hungry people! Or …How you deal with authority will be a test of your spirituality!
