Pride Goes Before Destruction — James 4

0:00 It's a pleasure to be with you again and to greet you. My wife would send her hellos to you, as well as my home assembly. I'd like to do this this morning. I'd like to pray and ask the Lord's blessing on our time. I would love to tell you that the men's conference was vigorous, and so I lost my voice there.

0:19 But basically, I got a cold. Father, we'd like to come before you this morning and thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to thank you that there is something about him that's so extraordinary and that we are attracted to his loveliness. I'm very grateful that he is a kind of individual that is a humble individual and seeks to be humble at all places and at all times because that's who you are, father. We ask your blessing on the word of God in Jesus' name.

0:50 Amen. So for those of you who have responsibility in ministering the word of God, I had this horrifying thought about a half an hour ago that I needed to change the message. And I do so with a great sense of fear and trepidation because the topic that I will take up, I have no one in mind nor do I feel that it's targeting at all. But I want you to know it is the most difficult topic to talk about ever. So with that disclaimer, I would like you to bear with me this morning as we take up a topic that causes the greatest destruction to the Lord's people ever.

1:43 That's a very bold statement, isn't it? What is this entity that causes such great destruction to the body of Christ and to the Lord Jesus himself as he identifies himself with the body? What is this this overwhelming, problem? What is it? How can it be so big?

2:05 How can it be so large? Why is it that way? I say all this to actually milk your or salt your tongue to say, well, what are you talking about? In fact, if you say that to the end of the message, that's really bad. So please forgive me.

2:24 But it's pride. It's pride. And what I'd like to do in the next forty five minutes to four hours is I'd like to to develop this concept. I'd like to trace it through the word of God and develop its seriousness. And then I'd like to illustrate it from the word of God and from, of course, our own lives.

2:56 So by introduction, would you turn to James chapter four. James chapter four. Now please, keep in mind, it wasn't my decision to talk on this, but, we shall. James chapter four and verse six, but he gives more grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud, but give gives grace to the humble.

3:35 Now, that's kind of a important statement because it appears that there was a measure of pride in the audience that James is addressing. You can see that the way he is so pointed in his discussions concern about the tongue and about the reality of faith and the love affair with the world. But when he comes to this point in James chapter four, he uses a word here which is very, very strong. And it says, God resists. Another translation says opposes the proud.

4:10 There's a little bit of a word picture associated with that word resist or oppose. And the word picture is that you're standing in battle fatigues, body armor, and your sword is drawn, and you're ready to fight. Can you imagine that? Most of us in our Christian life cannot imagine the Lord standing there with a sword drawn, and we're in front of him, and he's ready to fight. And who is he going to fight?

4:44 The proud. So it's very possible to be cruising along in our Christian lives. It's very possible to be doing good things, as it were, wholesome things. And yet, with that attitude of pride, we find ourselves in direct conflict with the king of kings. That should frighten you.

5:10 That should sterilize you and I. Because it's possible for us to sabotage the work of God before we ever begin because of our pride. It's dangerous. It is absolutely dangerous. There are certain things in medicine that we talk about.

5:33 And one of the things you'll hear all over and over and over is, have you quit smoking? Now to this audience, I think that's not a big deal. But to the rest of the world, it's a big deal. And inevitably, I'll hear the patients say, why do I need to quit smoking, doctor? They always say that when they're trying to trying to duel you, you know.

5:54 I say, well, because it'll kill you. Oh, it won't kill me. I said, really? Let me ask you this. Has your chest ever hurt so bad that you felt that there was a thousand, 10,000 pounds on your chest?

6:09 No. I said, that heart attack will kill you. Have you ever had this fungating mass grow in your lungs in a manner that you could not resect it? No. That'll kill you.

6:43 That's what it demands. It's very dangerous. I want you to turn to First Timothy chapter four. Excuse me. Proverbs chapter 16, not to first Timothy.

6:56 Proverbs chapter 16 and verse five. I'm just gonna introduce this whole concept of pride. And in Proverbs chapter 16 and verse five, it says the following. Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. And notice, it did not say that you've expressed your pride.

7:20 We've expressed ourselves in an arrogance. Didn't say that it actually erupted and could be seen. It just says that if you have a heart that lifts itself up, that is proud, that constitutes being an obnoxious odor to the Lord. That's a that's a dramatic statement, isn't it? We don't think that.

7:45 We're busy. We're we're doing things. We're visiting the sick. We're helping with camp. We're active in the assembly.

7:53 We're we're busy with with our work. We're we're honorable in our in our character. And yet, that proud heart, not its expression, but its existence makes our offering to God tainted. That means that we can actually come to the breaking of the bread. We can sit and be eloquent with one another and to the Lord about the person of Christ to our father, and with a proud heart, we have totally contaminated the situation.

8:34 So much so that God would say, that's an abomination to me. I can't tolerate that. Abomination is a strong word. It's the idea of of being so obnoxious, you can't even stand to be near the presence of that individual. This is what he's saying.

8:52 That's a very desperate statement. It's it's it's should rivet us, shouldn't it? Beloved, pride kills. Let's let's just look at some of the seriousness of this. Now turn back to second...

9:13 Or first Timothy chapter three in verse eight. I want you to know Andy that around three this morning, I thought about texting you to see if you could speak this morning, but the Lord didn't give me that liberty either. So Chapter three. First Timothy chapter three, and I want you to read with me just a couple of verses in verse six. Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

9:59 Wow. So these are qualifications of the elder. And he says, listen, I want you to be careful of those who are relatively new at this thing. Timothy, you're an emphasis there, and you'd be on the lookout because there's a tendency that when you're relatively new at the Christian things of life and the journey, a place as an elder, that position as elder might make the heart actually think of himself more highly than he ought to think. And when that happens, he falls into the same category of being condemned with the devil.

10:45 That is bad company. Don't you love it when somebody says, you know, I'm not trying to be difficult here. I'm just playing the devil's advocate. I don't think you ought to do that. This is the same concept.

11:01 I'm put into the same category of the condemnation that Satan himself received. This is what this is what makes this pride thing so serious. The one who was who was seeking to corrupt and steal the glory of God. We have to be careful here. Pride must be dealt with ruthlessly.

11:25 Look at whose company it automatically joins us unto. Let's look at another serious element. Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 10. Oh, I'm sorry. It just hurts your ears.

11:42 If you didn't have holes in your eardrums, you have it now. Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 10. By pride comes nothing but strife. Let me say that again. By pride comes nothing but contention.

12:15 You know, there's only one result of pride. It's fighting. It's never going to produce fruit. It's never going to be a positive thing. It's never going to add to the equation.

12:32 It is always going to subtract and divide. Pride has no benefit. Pride has no positive side to it. Pride does one thing. It destroys, divides, it makes fight one another.

12:54 Brothers and sisters, we have been prideful. How do I know that? Let me ask you this. You ever heard of a meeting splitting? It says here in the text that pride produces strife.

13:15 Usually, in our circles, shows up in divisions and bitternesses. It shows up in polarization of one party against another. That's called strife. How do we get there? When the day is done, pride will be found as a root cause.

14:05 I'd like you to look at verse five. We have a corollary. He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife. Not only does pride produce contention, but the person of that heart that is the the disposition of pride is the instigator of it. The one who notice it references not a noun, proud, the the pride element.

14:35 He's referencing the person. He who is that individual's disposition. You are responsible. It's very, very serious, isn't it? Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 18.

14:50 Please turn with me there. Proverbs chapter 16 and verse 18 says this, pride goes before destruction. What does proud pride do? It destroys. It destroys.

15:14 It it it's it's like a wolf. It wants to tear the animals apart. It wants to shred. That's what pride does. Oh, beloved.

15:24 We have got to deal with this. Right? When I hear of of all the various assembly struggles we have across the continent, when I hear about somebody who disagrees, when I hear that somebody who's left, when I hear all of that, I hear one thing. We have a proud heart. Oh, Steve, we know the truth.

15:47 Yes, we do. Steve, we have great precious promises of God. Yes, we do. We understand the principles of New Testament gathering. Yes, we do.

15:57 But we've added to it a measure of pride that puts us in direct opposition with the Lord Jesus himself. This is serious. Yesterday and Friday night we talked about revival. We needed a few more hours because one of the things I thought we needed to talk about was how pride sabotages revival. It destroys it.

16:30 And here we are praying in our prayer meetings that the Lord would give us a newfounded fresh appreciation to the things of God and obedience. That's by definition revival. And what happens is it is totally sabotage because of an arrogant spirit. Pride goes before destruction. This demands that we have a definition of pride.

16:59 We have to know what this entity is. So I'd like to, first of all, since he referenced that as Paul referenced the devil, I would like to look at Lucifer's arrogance in Ezekiel chapter 28 and Isaiah chapter 14. We're going to first establish this whole matter of what pride is. So if you turn and with one finger in Ezekiel chapter 28, and another finger in Isaiah chapter 14, we'll try to extract a definition that is a working definition for us. Those scriptures are, excuse me, Isaiah chapter 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28.

17:54 All right. I'm gonna begin in Ezekiel 28 for the sake of of the discussion. It says this in verse 14. Now there's a lot of discussion concerning this referring to Satan and there's, some interpretive elements that we don't have time for. So please pardon me this point, and just accept that we're going to be talking about Lucifer for a moment.

18:27 You are the anointed cherub who covers. You are to cover. You are to protect. I established you. You're on the holy mountain of God.

18:41 You walk back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. What does that mean? You had unusual privilege and responsibility. You were the one that were like, if I may liken into the the guardians of the presence of God as it were. Not that he needed guarded, but but you know, we have this sense of the the austereness of the moment in the presence of God who has his guardians posted.

19:33 But iniquity means that we want to do violence against the rule maker. We want to rebel against the individual, not just the statement, not just falling short of his requirement, but we care not to have him rule over us. So he had iniquity in his heart. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence and you sinned. Therefore, I will cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, oh covering cherub.

20:08 From the midst of the fiery stones, that very special accessible point, now notice this, your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. In that moment of of of Lucifer's self estimation, that's one of the danger signs, self estimation. He came to the conclusion that his beauty, that looking at his beauty really defined his identity and felt that there should be more of his, how should we say, his authority. Therefore, it corrupted his wisdom. That's what pride does.

20:54 We'll see that in Nebuchadnezzar's life. It skews your thinking. It corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. You had an estimate of your being that was far beyond what is truly appropriate and and beyond the scope of who you are. Now turn to Isaiah chapter 14.

21:17 And in chapter 14, we have we have similar similar thoughts here, and I'd like you to read with me in verse 12. Verse 12 of Isaiah 14. Now we just established that there was an overestimation of one's splendor and beauty, and it created a disposition of of being. And you'll see that in his heart Satan said the following things. Oh, how you have fallen from heaven, oh Lucifer, son of the morning.

21:49 That's a very honorable position, son of the morning. How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. For you have set in your heart, notice that shows up again. It's an inward attitude that sometimes is not revealable to the naked eye. And what did your heart say?

22:10 Well, in my estimation of my beauty and grandeur and majesty, my heart said that I should do the following things. I will ascend into heaven. Heaven is what? The throne of God. Heaven is my throne.

22:28 Earth is my footstool. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, above all others and above your creation. I will sit on the mount of the congregation. What is that? It's a reference to Zion, Jerusalem.

22:43 Whether your throne be in heaven or your throne be on the created earth, I will reign over whatever realm you have. That's what he's saying. All this coming from this idea of overestimation, of an over abundant attitudes of of one's person. And then he says it this way, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. So even on this planet, I will be above your city or your throne.

23:13 And finally, says, oh, sorry. I skipped this one. On the sides, on the furthest sides of the North, what does that mean? That's a reference to Jerusalem again. And on the reference to Jerusalem, all the armies that conquered Jerusalem, they came over the North Wall.

23:28 Why is that? Because it was the higher ground. It's much harder to fight from a lower valley position against the city. You would come on the top on the northern part, have the higher ground and come over. Even if you were to read the conquest of, I believe it was Titus in Rome in seventy AD, that the army came over the northern part of the wall.

23:50 This is traditionally how the city was conquered. What Satan is saying is, what Lucifer is saying is, I will I will conquer you. Thus, it culminates in this phrase, and I will be like the most high God. Notice it doesn't... He does not use the term Jehovah.

24:11 He uses terms of power and authority. Jehovah, that title, speaks of the covenantal aspect that God wants to craft a ring arrangement, an agreement with you and I, and he wants it to be such that he will eventually take all responsible elements of the agreement. It's relational. Lucifer was not interested in the relational at all. He was not interested in the accountability of it at all.

24:37 He wanted the power, the authority, the riches and the dominion. This is what was... Why he offered the Lord Jesus that and the temptations. Bow down before me. I will give you all that you see.

24:50 It's mine. This is what pride is. It's an overestimation of self and therefore an attitude that feels that you should or I should or that Lucifer should assume all power and authority. Now, you notice, are five I wills, and they're very famous. Many a commentator have made reference to this, but I would submit to you that our God has also crafted five I wills.

25:17 It's in the book of Hebrews, don't turn there, chapter 10. And when he strikes out and says, in those days, I will make a new covenant, he takes the same five I wills I will phrases and he says the following things, not that he will conquer, not that he will subdue, not that he will have all the position, although he owns that already. He says, and their sins and their lawless deeds, I will remember no more. He takes all of the authority and all of the power and all of the riches and all of the dominion and he uses it to do one thing, make a covenant with a prideful people so that we would have our sins hid from view. Now, that's a God worth following.

26:34 Don't worry, I will not infect you. So Daniel chapter four, it's it's we're going to return to the narrative, but I want to focus on his testimony. His testimony comes at the end. And if you recall the story, he had this dream and it was really a dream about himself and and all the known known civilization of mankind found their protection and their growth and their authenticity under the shadow and protection of Nebuchadnezzar. And he became enamored with that and made some statements and he was driven that very hour to an in state of insanity for seven years.

27:26 It says here that at the end of my time, verse 34, I Nebuchadnezzar, notice it's personal. He's given his personal testimony. Lifted my eyes to heaven. Prior to this, they were never lifted to heaven. That's a statement of saying I actually acknowledge power and authority beyond me, and my understanding returned to me.

27:48 That's very key. We'll revisit that statement in a little bit later. And I blessed the most high. My my mouth was now saying the right things and praised and honored him who lives forever. I love this testimony.

28:05 For his dominion is an everlasting dominion. Prior to this point, it was Nebuchadnezzar who thought he had an everlasting dominion. His kingdom is from generation to generation. Prior to this point, Nebuchadnezzar thought his kingdom or his kingdom was from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are as reputed as nothing like you reputed me on my back for seven years in an open field.

28:28 He does according to his will in the army of heaven. Prior to this, Nebuchadnezzar did whatever he wished. He was a ruthless man. The torturous maladies that he came up with are inconceivable. He said this, no one can...

28:42 Or excuse me, among the inhabitants of the earth, he says this, no one can restrain his hand. No one can say, to God, now you can't do that here. This is my turf, not yours. No one can say that to you. And then notice this one.

28:57 Or say to him, what have you done? As if to say, God, you owe me an answer. Now, that's his testimony, but notice at the very closing sentence of his paragraph of testimony, he uses the word pride. Look at what it says in the last verse. And those who walk in pride, he is able to put down.

29:25 That's like the summary statement. You know, when we were taught to do composition, you had this opening statement of the paragraph and you had a concluding statement of the paragraph. The concluding statement of the paragraph is actually encapsulating everything that he mentioned. Thus, logic alone would tell you that he is saying pride is where I felt I had total dominion, total authority, and that you had to answer to me. What have you done?

30:00 That's why pride is so dangerous. That's what we say to God. That's what Satan said. I will. I will take it all.

30:12 Thank you very much. This is why pride is so opposed by God. This is why pride was the very thing that that catapulted Satan Lucifer from the corridors of the heavenly realm. This is why pride cannot be in his pride. This is why pride cannot be in any element whatsoever, not even a scent of it on the garments of the bride.

30:41 The bride cannot be proud. The bride must be humble. Now, I've taken some time to introduce this topic with fear and trepidation. I've taken some time to talk about its seriousness by visiting some of the passages in Timothy and the Proverbs. I've taken some time to talk about a working definition, both from Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 and this whole disposition that then inevitably calls God out.

31:17 Oh, there are many a man and woman that do that. You don't have to go far before you'll hear yourself say that. Maybe you've said it, God, why? You owe me an answer. I want an answer.

31:34 You owe me an explanation. What have you done? You ever say that? See how how much it puts us in the category of the same condemnation of the devil. Oh, listen, beloved, we can't do that.

31:47 We cannot do that. We cannot have prideful elders. We cannot have prideful deacons. We can't have prideful saints. We can't have prideful fathers or husbands or children or wives.

33:02 In other words, Nebuchadnezzar, this is a dream about you and you're gonna be cut down, but we're gonna... He's gonna allow you to come back. And so, in verse 16, it says this, let his heart be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the heart of a beast. That's really key in the passage because Nebuchadnezzar is, you know, now looking back, seeing what he learned about pride in his own heart, we see here in the initial part that Nebuchadnezzar's heart was prideful, and it does something to you. It changes your ability to rationally think.

33:46 It changes your ability to to logically sequence. It distorts your ability to distinguish between what is holy and what is unholy. That's what pride does. It changes the heart of a man to a heart of a beast. I love my dogs.

34:08 I do. But they can't think to save their lives. Right? How do I know that? You ever see this?

34:17 You're petting them. You're giving them all this love and care. Somebody throws a ball. They're just doomed to respond. There's nothing that is that is able to be harnessed in that kind of animal in that way.

34:32 They they don't... They're not of the same mindset of the human frame. And what happened to Nebuchadnezzar? You can read it with me. It's in it's in verse 34.

34:45 It says this... Oh, excuse me, not 34. Oh, boy. Sorry about that. Verse 28.

34:54 So he said, verse 28. All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar, and at the end of twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke saying, is this not great Babylon? Have I not... Hear it hear it now.

35:15 Have I not built for... Have... That I... Is it not great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty? Hear all those personal pronouns.

35:30 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a year later, a voice from heavens came saying, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it has been spoken, the kingdom has been has departed from you. Nebuchadnezzar's prideful state not only forfeited his kingdom for a period of seven years, but it drove him to insanity. Look, and they shall drive you from men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and you shall eat grass like oxen and seven times shall pass over you until you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he chooses. You didn't have a single thing to do with this. At that very hour, the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven from men.

36:22 Listen, this is what happens in a prideful condition. It changes and distorts your ability to think rationally. You think irrationally. You call things black when they're white. You call things white when they're black.

36:36 You have no ability to discern the spiritual things of God. That's gone. And what happens is it ostracizes you. It ostracizes you and I from other individuals. He was driven from the presence of men.

36:51 Oh, I've seen this over and over and over again. And it's killing the people of God, isn't it? The bride is taking a beating on this. The bridegroom, no doubt is shedding a tear over this. Beloved, we can't be this way.

37:09 We can. Let me give you a few examples as a note. Have you ever you ever heard somebody say this, I'm right. No, excuse me. You're right.

37:27 I'm just a little less right. What's that mean? Well, it's pride. How about the right to be right? How about having the last word?

37:41 You ever have that? Those are all evidences of this irrational thinking. I have thought this thing through a 100 times, and I'm always coming to the same answer. I've got to be right. You know, it it has nothing to do with you being right.

38:03 It's what does the Lord think about this. I've seen this in marriages. I've seen it in saints and elders. These things destroy. These things destroy.

38:21 I've had somebody say to me one time, they said, I can't wait to the judgment seat of Christ when you will see how right I am. That's what they said. I quickly moved away from the table thinking that lightning might strike. That's terrible, isn't it? That's an awful attitude.

38:48 Let me tell you first of all, the judgment seat has nothing to do with you being right or wrong. You see what I mean? The distortion of an ability to think properly about the words of God. It's not about your vindication. And that's what was being touted as a as a a claim of justification in that moment of dispute.

39:15 Oh, friends, those attitudes are destructive. They're the very destructive attitudes that he had in his own heart of Lucifer. They destroyed they destroyed Nebuchadnezzar for a season, I'm afraid they're destroying the bride of Christ. Oh, we cannot do this. We cannot do this.

39:58 One is in First Samuel 15. Would you turn there please? A lot of illustrations we could use, the king's lives and some of the arrogance of the kings and I'd love to do that, but I don't have that luxury today. I want to turn to First Samuel chapter 15. First Samuel chapter 15 is Saul.

40:25 I wanted you to see his pride. You and I maybe know the story well. He was commanded to go, eradicate the Amalekites who are now four hundred years plus down the road after God said that he would judge them, meaning God was patient and judgment does eventually come. And so, Saul was commissioned to this mission. And, as the first king of Israel, you would think he would want to do it the right way, but he didn't.

41:01 Let me show you what he did. Verse nine, Saul and the people spared Agag, that's the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep and the ox and the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, sounded okay, and were unwilling. Notice that there was two things. There was a sparing of something, this king's life and the animals, the best of the booty, but also notice the rebellion, unwilling, unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, well, we're happy to get rid of.

41:39 They utterly destroyed. Now Samuel shows up. It's a very kind of eloquent discussion. Samuel rose in the morning, verse 12, he went to Saul and he went to meet Saul and was told Samuel that Saul was in Carmel and indeed he had set up a monument for himself. See that pride?

42:08 A monument. What is that? He made a statue. Of who? I imagine it was Saul.

42:17 Fire power. You know? He was patting himself on the back. He was considering himself to have done right the will of God, and he was congratulating himself for it. Now, why did he save King Agag's life?

42:34 Because that's the evidence of his victory. That was the way he was built this monument, paraded Agag through the streets of Carmel. Now Carmel is interesting because there's another guy there that was also prideful in first Samuel 25. We'll talk about him next. This whole pride thing was so disruptive.

42:52 He just went out and made a nice statue. Why don't you just go home and and get right before God? No. Then when Samuel comes in, notice this. Verse 13, Samuel went to Saul and Saul said to him, very spiritual, blessed are you blessed are you of the Lord.

43:11 I have performed the commandment of God. You see what he's saying? I did it, baby. I got it done. We conquered them Amalekite kitties.

43:23 We're good. And I love this. If that's the case, then why did I I hear those stinking sheep in my ears? That's a little loose translation from the Hebrew. And what he was saying was this, the evidence of your disobedience and unwillingness and rebellion is very much in the very...

43:43 In the in the... Using the sensory organ of my hearing. I can even hear that. Can't you hear that? He's going, no, I obeyed the Lord.

43:53 In fact, it's like he stamps his feet. I did obey the Lord. I did obey the Lord. His thinking is totally fouled up. You've got evidence of of absolute fragrant disobedience to God himself, and he's crying out that he's right.

44:11 It's nasty. Don't be caught on that side of the fence. Let's turn to first Samuel chapter 25. As you know, there are certain names in the bible you should never use for your children. Jezebel, Ananias, Sapphira, Nabal.

44:34 First Samuel chapter 25 is a story about Nabal and Abigail. I want you to see the arrogance of Nabal. You can't see things straight. As you know, Nabal was a fairly successful ranch operator. He had lots of sheep and it was sheep shearing season.

44:58 David was king elect and he was on the run from Saul's confused state to murder and assassinate the best military man he's ever had. David was a one man genius when it came to military conquest. Guerrilla warfare was his specialty. And yet, David had to be on the run, the king elect. And so while he was on the run, he would go and he'd help out the people like a king should do.

45:29 And these guys, these these people would have their ranching operations on the hillside and they would go and he'd provide protective security force to keep the looters and the poachers out. David did this free of charge. David did it willingly because this is what a king would do for his people. Saul was interested in murdering one man. David was interested in the welfare of the people so much like the Lord Jesus.

45:55 Now Nabal was married to a young lady named Abigail. I think she's beautiful. Nabal was described if you read with me in verse two, excuse me, verse three. The name of the man was Nabal and the name of his wife was Abigail. Abigail gets the idea of the not Naomi's pleasant, but you would think of it, the name means sort of like one of life's little treasures.

46:22 Nabal means fool. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance, but he was a harsh man. He was an evil man in his doings, and he was from the house of Caleb. He had great roots, but a terribly arrogant personality. Look at what he says to to to David's men when they went to to Nabal and asked him for, just some some extras that they might have at the celebration of shearing the sheep.

46:56 So in David's verse nine, David's young men came. They spoke to Nabal according to all the words the name of David. Then Nabal answered David's servants and said, who is this David? I don't think so. Look at this.

47:13 Who is this son of Jesse? You know, there are a lot of people these days, a lot of servants nowadays who break away each from his own master. I bet you're one of them, David. He's the king elect, nitwit. You don't say that.

47:29 Shall I then, now notice the personal references to himself. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed and my shears and give it to men when I don't know where they've where they come from? You hear that arrogance? Sounds just like Satan. I will, I will, me, my.

47:52 What a fool. Look at that. Look how destructive that was. David was so incensed he was gonna kill all the men that night. And Abigail steps in, and she is the...

48:02 Boy, she's the fragrance of Christ. On me, my Lord, on me. Let this iniquity be. This man doesn't deserve to live, but you take my life instead of his. Boy, that's me.

48:14 That's me. I I was Nabal and my Christ stepped in and he had the the cold steel of the judging sword of God fall upon his neck. On me, let this iniquity be. Father, forgive them for Steve does not know what he does. Oh my goodness.

48:29 It's a beautiful story. Make a great gospel message sometime. Anyway, the point is this. The arrogance of this individual is so blatant. He cannot correctly perceive the situation.

49:10 I feel like that, don't you? I have a I have a message the Lord gave me one day. It all begins with j's. Jacob at the Brook Of Jabbok and Jonah and Jesus. Anyway, Jonah, as you know, was told to go preach a message of destruction to the Ninevites who worshipped, I think, fish gods and and there it's ironic because they're way inland from far away from the ocean.

49:42 I don't know how they ever got fish gods out of the desert, but they did. And Jonah was was gonna go or was told to go preach them a message of destruction. Now why is that? Because contrary to many people's popular opinion that the grace of God is still present even in the Old Testament. And yet, Jonah would go the other way and you know the story.

50:06 He gets on a boat in Tarsus. Right? Or excuse me, in Joppa. If you were to travel to Israel with us, Lord willing, February 12 through the twenty third next year, we go to Joppa. We actually stand on the very ancient docks where Jonah would have gone on.

50:22 It's kind of kind of surreal. Anyway, he gets on this boat and you know the story. The Lord sends a storm. The Lord sends a fish. He's always sending things for Jonah.

50:34 Sends a gourd, sends a worm, sends vehement heat. And as it would go, he's asleep in the bottom of the boat because when you're arrogant, you try to ignore everything else. Men are dying on the deck and he's down there having a good old time in the hammock. And they get all upset and the captain's wandering through thinking about what else he could throw overboard and he sees this man asleep and he says, there are no sleeping passengers today. We are going to die.

51:03 You should at least pray to your God and ask your God to rescue us. Jonah, almost so cavalier, so cold, he says, oh, I know who's doing this. If I'm the captain, I would have grabbed him by the neck. I served the I served the God who made the heavens and the seas and I'm running from them. And you're on my boat?

51:26 I ought to kill you. And they're fearing God. They're the only people who has the right response. They says, what should we do? Oh, you need to throw me overboard.

51:36 I'm not gonna throw you overboard. God might get upset at it some more. So they they row and they throw and nothing happens. And finally, Jonah said, well you got to throw me overboard. This is this is a better version than the VeggieTales, trust me.

51:52 So they launch him overboard and of course the Lord sends a great fish. Isn't that poetic? Because you're going to go to a people who worship the fish god and he has no no better credibility than to show up at a place where they worship the fish god having been in the bowels of a fish. Not bad. God's always thinking.

52:14 So he gets Jonah's over. You know, how long do you have before you drown in a violent sea? Maybe a minute? Means he had to have the fish ready to go. Boom.

52:26 Now I think of it, you know, the Veggie Tales, they have Jonah with a little hut and a nice little palm tree, campfire in the belly of the fish and he got all these singer fish going singers around it. That's not the real version. Apparently, he was stuck in some sort of intestines where you would have eels with you and seaweed and you know what eels do, don't you? They sting you. And you're down there in this kind of cramped position like you're in some sort of cocoon thing and he comes to himself and he has this really beautiful prayer and the fish vomits it out.

52:59 I always thought that was a funny expression. This has given me indigestion. I was giving indigestion to the Lord too. Then he goes over to Nineveh and and you know, the text is very simple. He just says God's gonna judge you.

53:16 His heart wasn't in it, was it? Alright. Listen, I gotta tell you guys something. God's gonna judge you. Be ready.

53:22 Have a nice day. What a lousy preacher. I'll never forget. I was asked one time, I was whining and moaning, the almost missionary, about working a night shift and my wife said to me, I've prayed that tonight every patient is a divine appointment. And I looked at her and it's total skepticism and disrespect and I said, why'd you do that?

53:45 I am so happy in my misery. She looked at me like, you sad little man. Handed me my chocolate chip cookies and sent me to work. And I got to the hospital and the first patient needed the gospel. I was I was wrestling with God.

54:00 I'm not saying a word. I'm not saying a word. You need to say... No. No.

54:03 No. Okay. I'll say something. And my little gospel message was wouldn't save a flea unless God was in it. Wow.

54:15 So he gives this lame brain message, you know, it's not very good at all, and and Jonah, he gets so angry. He's always angry. It says in verse four... Chapter four verse one, and it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he became angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, our Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my country?

54:35 Doesn't that sound like, what are you doing? Therefore, I fled to Tarshish, as if to say, and I was right to get out of here, for I know you're gracious and merciful. What is wrong with that, Jonah? You're slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness. What is wrong with that, Jonah?

54:55 Because let me tell you, he's slow and merciful to you right now. Therefore, oh Lord, please take my life from me for it is better for me to die than to live. He's suicidal. This is what arrogance does to you. You cannot think clearly.

55:13 You call things in the wrong way. Oh, take my life because this is just wrong. This is just wrong. Alright. Now, at this point, he still has his faculties, his physiology, his health.

55:27 God sends the gourd that gives him the shade, the heat, and then the worm that eats the gourd in one day. So now he's there, and he's in this terrible heat stroke condition. You ever been there? Your lips are all parched with three or four layers. Your tongue is thick under the top of your neck.

55:47 You can barely talk like I am today. And the Lord... I just see the Lord kind of cozies up to him, flat on the ground, dehydrated. Hey, Jonah, is it right for you to be upset? This is Jonah.

56:08 Yes. Jonah, give it up, buddy. You're almost dead. You almost got your wish. God's right.

56:17 You're wrong. Is it right for you to be... Yes. You bet it is. I'll go to my grave like this.

56:25 You hear that? Pride brings nothing but strife and destruction. I gotta ask you this question, saints. This is my questions too. Do I exemplify pride by being inflexible, by being arrogant, by in my heart of hearts expecting God to give me answers, that he is my servant, my genie?

57:01 Am I so preoccupied with my plans and my ways and what I can build? Oh, see, those are all symptoms of this pride thing. Am I a complainer or a murmurer? That's what really complaining and murmuring does. We're really saying in so many words, what are you up to?

57:19 I don't like this. Sometimes it comes out in this way, but we don't really agree with everything the elders do here. I want to ask you something. Did you know God heard that? And maybe God doesn't agree with everything you're doing either.

57:38 That's kind of startling. Do we have this pride in an unforgiving spirit? Well, I have suffered so much. If you've just understood my suffering, I don't know, my savior suffered a lot too. Well, you know, you really need to listen.

57:55 I've got some experience on these things, and you really need to see this perspective. I have something to say, and you need to listen to it. Oh, my goodness. Are we gossiping? All those things can be elements, ramifications, expressions, symptoms of pride.

58:44 Now, in this in the city of Philippi in Macedonia, that's a big deal because historically, you had Brutus and Cassius, they were fleeing from Antony and, Anthony and Octavian, and they lost