Greetings!
By the grace of God and His provision, we will be leaving for a family vacation Sunday morning! God provided this through the gift of someone!
Please be faithful to attend our services as we have special speakers lined up!
Our weekend schedule is as follows:
Saturday
- 7:45 PM: Praise Band Rehearsal for VBS week
- 9:00 PM: Men’s Prayer time
Sunday
- 9:00 AM — Discovery Class (Ed Jones will be leading)
- 10:30 AM — Morning Worship (Joe Mickey will be speaking)
- NO SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE
Proverbs 18:12 says “Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.”
As we continue to look at the book of Proverbs this month, we see many principles from God’s Word that helps us understand true wisdom and godly living.
There are several re-occurring principles in the book of Proverbs. One of them is humility. The verse stated above teaches God’s way for blessings and honor in life. It is in stark contrast of the world’s way. God’s word is very clear: The way to obtain honor and blessing is through humility, not self-sufficiency!
The world says believe in yourself. Think positive. You can do anything you want to do with hard work and determination. Be assertive, confident, and wise. Don’t let anyone push you around.
The Bible says “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” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
The Bible says in Proverbs 28:26 that “he who trusts in his own heart is a fool.” The Bible says “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Here in our verse today, God says that before destruction the heart of man is haughty. That means that when we are proud and self-confident then we are headed for a fall. When we believe that our way is the right way, and no one can tell us what to do, and we brag on ourselves, our accomplishments, and our advancements, then we are on our way to destruction, because we are giving God no credit. We don’t acknowledge Him in our life, but we have it under control.
Did you know that the number one sin that God hates more than any is pride? Did you know that pride is the number one sin that will keep people out of Heaven? Did you know that pride was the sin of Satan when he was an angel in Heaven? The Bible says he wanted preeminence. He wanted to be worshipped. He wanted to be God! And God threw him out of Heaven forever from His presence, along with 1/3 of the angels who followed him in his rebellion.
Today the world is filled with pride. Men want to be heard and seen. Men want to be worshipped and praised instead of giving God all the glory and praise. Men want to be first. We have all kinds of hatred and fights because people want to their own way above all else.
This is the kind of life that leads to destruction. You find this theme all through the Bible. Jesus said, “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). It is a principle in God’s word therefore it is true all the time!
The reason pride will keep people out of Heaven is because a prideful person will never admit his/her need. They will never acknowledge their sin. They will never acknowledge that they need forgiveness. They will never admit that they need a Savior, because they cannot save themselves. They will never see the fact that they cannot obtain any favor from God by their own righteousness. As a matter of fact the Bible says that the righteousness of man is as filthy rags in God’s sight!
But this verse also tells us the way of blessing and honor. It is through humility. When a person sees their sin, and their unworthiness before a holy God they are immediately humbled. They see their need for His forgiveness. They realize they do not deserve it. But they come to understand grace, which is unmerited favor. Grace is God’s goodness and forgiveness given to a person in spite of what they deserve!
Every time a person in the Bible realized they were in the presence of God, they immediately had a sense of unworthiness and humility. Isaiah 6:5 describes the reaction of Isaiah when he stood in the presence of God and all of His holiness: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” Isaiah saw his sin and knew He deserved God’s judgment. He humbled himself in the presence of God, and God forgave him and exalted him!
Another example is in the life of Peter. The Bible says in Luke 5 that when the Lord Jesus Christ told Peter to put his net out for a catch of fish, that Peter caught so many that the nets began to break. In that moment, for the first time, Peter realized who Jesus really is. He knew that he was standing in the presence of God in human flesh! What was Peter’s reaction? Did he jump up and say; “now I know that you are God, and I know that you know all about me and my accomplishments? You know how good I am.” No way! The Bible says in Luke 5:8 that Peter’s response was: When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Peter saw his sin and unworthiness. He was humbled. And God saved Peter and used him greatly for His kingdom!
The Bible is never wrong! Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility. That means that if you want destruction of your life, then be proud. But if you desire honor and blessing, the humble yourself before God, and by His grace live a humble life!
Have you seen the truth about yourself in the presence of God? Do you realize that He is holy and you are unholy? He is perfectly righteous and you are unrighteous. He is sinless and you are sinful. Have you humbled yourself before Him, told Him that you are sorry for your sins and that you need His Son, Jesus Christ? Jesus took your place when He died upon the cross. He paid for all of your sins. He rose from the dead three days later. He can take your sins away and give you His perfect righteousness. But you must humble yourself before Him. You must see your sin and your need for His forgiveness. You must in humility and brokenness turn from your sin to Him and let Him have full control of your life.
When you become a Christian, you realize that the Christian life is one of humility and absolute dependency. When I realize I deserve nothing but judgment from God because of my sin, and see that He gives me forgiveness and eternal life by His grace, through His Son’s death and resurrection on my behalf, how can I ever be prideful? I got something I did not deserve! I still don’t deserve it! I never will.
May we live our lives in gratitude for Christ and what He did for us. May we never be self-sufficient. May we ever trust Christ and never ourselves!
Posted by kcokerjr 
Posted by kcokerjr 
Posted by kcokerjr 
