5 Dec 2009
Pride is like the Stealth Bomber. Before we can see it, it brings on destruction.
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” - Proverbs 16:18
The subtle temptation of ministry is the sin of pride, to affirm ourselves through ministry that has been given to us by God. We have nothing that we did not receive; NOTHING! Any ministry that has value in the eyes of God is His idea. If we have an idea for ministry and it is valuable to Him, the idea was His. If it is not His idea, it is simply wood hay and stubble and will not stand the test of fire. He is God and we are not. God has made us His children and given us a job in the family business. We have the awesome privilege of serving our Father, the King, to accomplish His work.
The primary purpose of any ministry is to magnify the Lord, not us. Pride contains the nearly unending well concealed desire to be God, to be magnified by ministry. This desire is so well concealed that we rarely recognize it until our pride becomes fully ripe and the rot begins to show.
God has Stealth Bomber Radar. His radar sees through all the cover, concealment, and covert actions. He will give us access to His radar. He will not give us His radar but He will allow us sit beside Him and view the screen. Intimacy with Jesus is a critical element in developing vision for personal pride.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart.” - Jesus
“Our great temptation will be to affirm ourselves while we follow Jesus” - Henry Blackaby
Because we are so desperately self-centered, it is easy for us to fall for this temptation. Below are two actions that can provide protection from the Stealth Bomber of Pride.
First, develop an intimate relationship with Jesus; in all the normal ways, but also in your minute by minute thinking. This is a simple but difficult discipline. Each time you think about yourself, switch your thinking to Jesus and His glory. It may be helpful to capture the perspective that everything that is going on in your life is a part of His plan and He desires to get glory from every aspect of your life. [Sometimes His glory will be apparent sooner and sometimes later.]
Second, ask. Ask your Father to reveal the unseen. He specializes in things unseen. He will show you the location of pride in your life if you ask Him. This is simple but may be painful. Of course, pain is often necessary for growth. We may think we know our own propensity to act in pride. A false sense that our pride is not a problem can be the precise thing that will keep us from asking God to reveal to us our pride. When we rest in a false sense of security we have little motivation to ask for help. We need help. He is God and we need help.
There is a way in which God is a little like a vending machine. When we ask God in prayer; we get an answer. When we put our coins into the vending machine we do not expect it to continue to dispense product forever after. Like the vending machine in order to get another answer from God we must again ask Him. In the Bible we are told to ask and the linguistic context directs us to keep on asking. This applies to our asking God to reveal pride. We should ask Him every day or more often. If we continue to ask, God will continue to answer. Beware of stopping this after a few days or weeks because we have fallen into the deception that we have arrived at the home of the humble. It seems clear that a deep dedication to pursue humility will require persistence for many years if not for a lifetime. To pursue humility is a choice. To fail to chose to intentionally pursue humility is to chose to panper pride.
Matthew 7:7
" Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.
JLW - 2 C Revival Inc.
Jeff Williams
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