In the month of May we have been looking at the Elevation Series, and we started by looking at understanding who we are as believers: The Status Of Every Believer, making us to understand who we are, coming to terms with who God has made us to be, not our family background, not our lineage, not our educational qualification as it were or other things as the world would describe as important. What is important to God is who He has called you to be, and that is what we must align with. So we looked at the Status of Every Believer because it is the foundation of our elevation experience. If you know who you are, then you will know what to command and what to connect to, and the Holy Spirit led us through in the first part of that series.
Download Podcast: THE DANGERS OF PRIDE
Last week, we looked at the second part of the series, The Altars Of Decisions, how that the Bible chronicles the elevation experiences of different people through times and periods and territories in the Scriptures, and we are able to see from the life of Abraham, the life of Elisha and our Lord Jesus Christ, how they were able to connect with Altars Of Decisions that gave them a platform for their elevation.
Today by the instruction of the Holy Spirit, we will be looking at another step, which is the step three of the elevation series, we are looking at The Danger of Pride, how Pride is the enemy of elevation. I want us to start by looking at the text that we have for the series which is Psalm 75, and this time, I will read from verse 4 to verse 7. We are used to reading 6-7, but today we will start from verse 4-7. I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’ And to the wicked, ‘Do not [c]lift up the horn.5 Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.’ ” This is God speaking 6 For exaltation comes neither from the east Nor from the west nor from the south.7 But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.
It says "I said to the boastful." When you hear the word boastful, it talks about Pride. I said to the proud, I said to the boastful, do not deal boastfully, don't be full of Pride. "And I said to the wicked" the one that will not allow God, the one that will not be broken enough to allow God to rule in his or her heart. "Do not lift up", you will see that it talks about a state of the heart. It said do not lift up your horn, do not lift up your horn on high and do not speak with a stiff neck. "For exaltation" because there is a strong link between verse 4, 5 ,6 and 7 so that we don't read these verses in isolation. So that we can understand the perspective through which God is speaking to us this morning.
He said "I have spoken to the proud.", Now understand this, the reason why I am saying don't deal boastfully and do not lift your horn on high is that exaltation does not come from the direction you are looking at it. It doesn't come from the East, it doesn't come from the West, it doesn't come from the South but God is the judge. God is the one that judges where the favour will rest, whether it is going to rest on you or another person, God is the judge. Because God has the prerogative to put down, and He has the prerogative to exalt. So He can put down a Saul and exalt David. He can put down Eli and exalt Samuel. God can put down one called Nebuchadnezzar and exalt Daniel.
God has the prerogative and He has been doing it all through times and we must not become ignorant of where exaltation comes from. Because unfortunately we live in a world where people have crafted means for themselves for exaltation, where people have crafted for themselves agendas outside the agenda of God. Where people are serving men rather than God because they feel and they have looked and they have decided to create for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water. They look unto men rather than look unto Christ, they look unto structures rather than look up to Christ.
David said I lift up my eyes up to hills from where comes my help. My help does not come from the Federal Government, my help does not come from human institution and structures, my help does not come from men or women of high profile. My help come from the Lord, the maker of all things, the maker of all creation, the maker of all human being that is working on the face of the earth. So we must quickly understand and receive this into our spirit this morning that exaltation comes from God. God did not start the business of exaltation today, and He is not changing it over your own life, He has been exalting men from the beginning. He has been dethroning men from the beginning, so understand this that God has the prerogative, He has the right, over night God can change the status of a man, over night God can destroy the image of a man, He has the prerogative. So God is the judge, He puts down one and exalts another.
Now before we begin to think that God does accidental discharge, that God does not shoot on target, before we think that God is just a big guy in heaven that does anything anyhow. God is a God of order, God is a God of principle, there are certain things that God has put in place as principles that guides us into elevation, that helps us to sustain what God is building with our lives. I want us to see 1Peter 5:5-6. Because we must understand what God is saying to us this morning. I will read it in the New King James Version, and I will also read it in the Passion Translation.
"Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (NKJV)
I will love to read it in the passion translation, it says; "In the same way, the younger ones should willingly support the leadership of the elders. In every relationship, each of you must wrap around yourself the apron of a humble servant." You must wrap around yourself the apron, the work cloth, of a humble servant, that is how you should work. Because: God resists you when you are proud, God will move against you when you are proud. When God moves against a man, nobody can help him. When God moved against Nebuchadnezzar in all of his glory and splendor, nobody could rescue him, he ate like an animal for a season because God moved against him. It says God resist you when you are proud. So anything you are doing, once you are in the Pride zone, once you have lifted up yourself, once you have lifted up your horn in your heart, God moves against you, no matter how fantastic what you are doing, even if it is the work of ministry. God will move against you, God will resist you, God will bring you down, "But He multiplies grace and favor when you are humble."
God moves in your direction, He favors you, He decides that it is upon you that the favor will rest because you are humble. And in verse 6 it says; "If you bow low in God’s awesome presence, he will eventually exalt you as you leave the timing in his hands." I want to dwell a little on that verse 6. If you bow low, you humble yourself under the Mighty Hand of God, in the awesome presence of God. Because God said, there is one I will not look away from, my attention is always drawn to a particular set of people, no matter their educational background, qualification, or their family history. I am always moved, I am always reacting, I am always in their favor.
There is a class of people that I don't look away from, and who are they? Those that have a broken and a contrite heart. There is a posture of their heart there is a posture I see their heart, I move towards them in favor, I move towards them in grace, I exalt them, I am given to their elevation, Why? Because of the state of their heart. They have a broken and a contrite heart. A broken and a contrite spirit, and it is the same thing that this verse is saying in 1Peter 5:6. If you will bow low in God's awesome presence, if you will humble yourself under the Mighty hand of God, He will eventually, in due time, in due time, in due season, if you do not faint, if you are not weary, He will exalt you as you leave the timing in His hands.
You must be able to trust God, your heart must be postured in a way that all that matters to you is that He is glorified, that all that matters to you is that God is glorified in your life, that all that matters to you is that God be pleased. Those are the category of people that God said I will move in favor, I will move in grace towards them. So exaltation does not come just like we read in Psalm 75:6-7 made us to understand that exaltation does not come from the East nor the West nor the South, God is the judge. He brings down one and exalt another, and these are the category of people that God exalts.
In James 4:6-7 another familiar Scripture, Now Peter wrote this and James wrote it the other way, but they are all saying the same thing. James 4:6-7. But he continues to pour out more and more grace I am reading in the Passion Translation, God continues to pour out more and more grace. Grace upon grace, He gives grace. For it says, God resists you when you are proud but continually pours out grace when you are humble.” He continually pours out grace, He continually pours out exaltation and elevation, because you are humble. So then because of this surrender to God. Child of God, let go and let God.
Enough of fighting for right, you don't fight for right with God. God said to Job, were you there when I put the sky in place, when I stretched the heavens like a curtain, who are you to question me? Because sometimes we deal foolishly when we are approaching God. We come as though it is our right, we come with that entitlement mentality. We come like the big brother of the prodigal son, that I am entitled, I own it, Lord I have been worshipping you, I have not disobeyed you I have loved you. No wonder in the church babies, children that come into relationship with God, with a broken and a contrite heart, prostitutes, drunkards, money doublers, 419, armed robbers, hired assassins that come into God with a humble and a contrite heart, no wonder they get that treatment, no wonder they get that elevation and we the big brothers, those that have given their lives to Christ since when they were tender, when they were six and seven, that have been going to church all their lives, we puff up instead of humbling ourselves.
We come to God with an entitlement mentality, we come with our horn lifted, we come with our shoulder squared before God, and no wonder we are fighting for elevation. We are fighting for recognition, we are fighting for position. God said there is a category of people that I won't look away from. No wonder Jesus said to the disciples, the disciples were the big brother they saw that woman with the alabaster box, she broke the box and poured her expensive oil at the feet of Jesus, and she wiped His feet with her hair. I don't deserve it, even my hair in all of its glory its nothing compared to the glory that I see on your feet. And she worshipped with reckless abandon, and the disciples said why should this woman waste such an expensive thing, why should her broken and a contrite heart that she has, they counted it as a waste. And Jesus said "everywhere that the gospel will be preached this woman's heart, this broken and contrite heart, her testimony will be shared all over." And we all remember the story that touching and compelling story of the woman with the alabaster box. Why? Because of her broken and contrite heart.
Are you coming to God entitled with your horns lifted? Are you coming to God in your Lamborghini experience as a believer? Or you are down on your feet in total surrender because no one is righteous not one, we all come by the blood. We all come and we Gods righteousness in Christ Jesus, we don't have a righteousness of our own, we all come by the blood of Jesus, so nobody is entitled, we are entitled by the blood, we come into His will by the blood. We come into that experience by the blood. So don't feel "but God I have been obeying you, God I have been living for you, do you know how many souls I have won for the kingdom?" Don't come with your plans of achievement, what God is looking for is a broken and a contrite heart. Don't come with your plaques of achievement, are we saying throw those things away? No!
Apostle Paul puts it this way, he said "I have counted all these things as dung that I may attain the excellence of Christ, this is the one thing I do, everyday I am pursuing, I forget the things that are behind, everything I have ever done for God yesterday is a privilege, but every day I move forward as if I have never done anything." I come to Him every day with my heart surrendered and with my head bowed in humility. I humble myself under the mighty Hand of God that He might once again use me, that He might once again He might glorify Himself in me, that's the thing I do, and that's the secret. No wonder He was elevated, you go all through the Scriptures and you will see the awesome revelations and mysteries he was opened to, that was his secret. He never allowed Pride to take him over, he never allowed entitlement mentality to take him over. That is why you hear him say "Paul the bond servant of Christ, Paul the slave of Christ", because until we posture ourselves, until we surrender to God, we can't stand up to the devil, Because it is until you surrender to God that God will now spot to you, the areas you have been neglecting, areas that the devil is looking for you to mess up and he will just have you.
In that James 4:7, it says; So then, surrender to God. Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will turn and run away from you. The devil is always looking for the proud. God is always looking for the humble. So when you decide to pitch tent in Pride, you are the choice of the devil. When you decide to pitch tent in humility, you are the choice of God. God's choice is always the humble. A small boy called Samuel that His mother gave over to God, was God's choice over Eli and His sons. David, a small boy forsaken even by his family. In the back of the desert rearing a few sheep, was the choice of God because of his heart, over Saul the tall guy, the muscular guy. If you see the description of Saul, he was a handsome person. But God chose David, God choose the humble over the proud, every time God votes this way in humility, every time Gods vote is always in humility, God resist the proud.
Imagine God voting against you, can you win any election? You can't! The devil votes on the proud. Gods vote is for the humble, Gods vote is always casted in favor of the humble. Pride is the enemy of exaltations and liftings. Any man that you see that is exalted and suddenly falls, go and check him proud took him over at some point. Look at the rich fool in the Bible, until Pride was found in him, his soul was not requested. Immediately Pride was found in him, his soul was requested, and that was the last.
I want us to see Daniel 5, I hope you are receiving what God is saying to you this morning because it is so instructional. God is saying to us, don't allow Pride to take you over. Daniel 5:20, "But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in Pride," This Scripture is so instructive! It said "when his heart", because it is in stages, number one his heart was lifted, he felt no I have arrived. Children of God, I want you to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you this morning, the reason why most of us have not worked in dimensions of God and God says see I can't release my power into this vessel, is Pride. God knows that if you have that power, you will in Pride abuse it, you will in Pride misuse it, so you have been praying and fasting and God says no I will withhold it, so that this power will not destroy you.
There are certain things you are asking for that God is withholding for your own good, he loves you and He said I will not allow you have it because it will destroy you. Your heart is lifted unduly because I am already seeing the seed of Pride in you, but when his heart was lifted up then it said and his spirit his heart was lifted and his spirit was hardened in Pride, that was what happened to Pharaoh, his spirit was hardened in Pride. "Who is this God that His people must serve Him? Who is He? Do you know how many gods I have in this my palace? And how many magic that is going on, all over the place, see magicians, see the kind of effizzy, the razzmatazz they do. So who is this God?" You will see when Moses will come to him my God said let my people come to Him and serve Me and Moses will do what God instructed him to do he will say "all this razzmatazz we do it here, forget it."
We see the same thing with unbelievers to people that must bow their knees to Jesus, they say what you saying? Do you know my mother was also born again? In fact there is a pastor beside my house, what are you saying, I will just say Jesus is Lord and I will be saved, Pride has hardened their hearts. What happened to him? He was deposed from his kingly throne, he was demoted, he was brought down because of Pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Pride rips you of God's glory, Pride strips you of God's glory and you are deposed from your throne, that is why Pride is evil and Pride is dangerous, you don't want to be living in the zone of Pride, it is dangerous.
I want us to see 1 Samuel 16 because some of these Scriptures are so important for us to look into them and see what God is saying, because God has been saying the same thing from the beginning I am going to the old testament so that we can see that it is not now that God has been dealing with the issue of Pride has always been an issue of exaltation from the beginning. 1 Samuel 16:7. This was a time when God sent Samuel to anoint a king in the house of Jesse.
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance Don't be carried away by his looks, looks are deceptive or at his or at his physical stature, because I have refused him." I have moved against him, this was talking about Eliab the elder brother of David, God said I have voted against Eliab, I have moved against him, even though he has a good appearance, even though he is tall dark and handsome, my glory and my enthronement is not for him, for I have voted against him because of the Pride of his heart."
"He said I have refused him" that is how God has been refusing many people, they will bring up their issue, their profile and God will say no not this one and they have spent so much, they have settled so many people, and God said no and the answer is no everywhere they go to the answer is no, why God has refused them, Why? For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance," they are moved, they vote for the outward appearance "but the Lord looks at the heart.” God sees what is on your heart you can't pretend, if You are humble God knows, if you are proud God knows and that is why the state of our hearts as children of God if you want to key into the elevations of God and its liftings, and its upgrade to our lives is to perpetually humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. It is to perpetually position ourselves in humility, is to always put ourselves in a position where we allow God to be glorified. God votes against the proud, very, very instructive.
1 John 2:16 as we begin to tie this up. It says; "For all that is in the world" so that you understand that Pride is not of God, God will never say to you I am a proud God no! He can say to you I am a jealous God, I don't share my glory with anyone, Pride is never associated with God. Let me begin from verse 15 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." God's love cannot be found in Pride. For all that is in the world — all that is in the world can be categorized into these three, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the Pride of life—is not of the Father.
Pride is not of God but is of the world. So if you are in Pride, you are in the world system, if you are in humility you are in God's system, that is the system in which God anoints kings the children of God that gets enthroned in the kingdom are children of God that remain in humility, children that have come, sons that have humbled themselves under the Mighty hand of God.
Now see, child of God you cannot deceive God. God cannot be mocked whatsoever a man sows that will he reap. You can't sow Pride and reap enthronement, no it does not work. Whatsoever you sow you will reap. Pride is not of God. God does not live in the zone of Pride, and we will see it all through Scriptures.
In closing, Proverbs 3:5-6. What should be the posture of your heart? Trust in the Lord with all your heart; When you trust in the Lord with all your heart, Pride does not have a room in it. You can't trust God and trust yourself, you can't trust God and trust people, you can't trust God and trust human structures. When you trust God with all your heart Pride cannot have room in your heart. The reason why Pride comes into our hearts is because we trust things. We trust ourselves, we trust other people, we trust structures, this is how God wants us to live, this is how we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.
Trust in the Lord with all, not a part, with all your heart, let your heart be solely to the Lord. And lean not on your own understanding. When you lean on your own understanding you get into Pride. When you lean on your own understanding and say "you know what, I have a master's degree in this I have a PhD in that, you know what, the way I'm so skilled, the way I'm wired I can do it on my own", Pride will have you. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, in all your ways acknowledge God, in your finances acknowledge God, in your marriage acknowledge God, in your ministry acknowledgement God. Give God His rightful place in your life. Let God be glorified. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, understand that God is the doer of every good thing, no one has anything if he has not received it from God.
Every good and perfect gift come from God the Father, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. What path is He directing you to? Elevations! He is directing you to liftings, to upgrades, and promotions. He will direct your path to enthronement. That is God. But there is a posture you must take, understand the danger of Pride don't be found in the Pride zone. Don't be found there, make sure you humble yourself. Count yourself as nothing so that God can exalt you. Let God know that He has you, anything that He wants to do let Him know that He has you. And let us stop the entitlement mentality. Every time you go to God, go in the humility of your heart. Humble yourself under the Mighty hand of God and He will exalt you.
I believe it is a good time to pray and ask God for grace, the Bible says in James that He gives grace. He gives grace, the grace to be humble is in God. You can't do it on your own. Can we connect to the grace that God has made available because God will not speak to us about the dangers of Pride if He has not made the grace available for us to come in humility, it is time, so that you will not be humiliated. Humble yourself under the Mighty hand of God. Let's key into that grace this morning.
Amen!
