No Place for Pride

	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. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

—1 John 2:15–16

Some people always have to get the most attention, always have to be the star, always have to be better than everyone else.

But the Bible says, "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy" (Romans 13:13, emphasis added).

"Strife" refers to persistent contention, bickering, petty disagreement, and enmity. This reflects a spirit of antagonistic competitiveness that fights to have its own way, regardless of the cost to itself or others. It is really the desire to prevail over other people. This is the person who wants the highest prestige, the greatest prominence, and the most recognition. This is someone who must be the top dog.

The word "envy" refers to someone who can't stand being surpassed and begrudges others success and position. They are pretty happy with the way things are going until someone else gets something they want. It has been said that envy shoots at another and wounds itself. In the end, the only one who gets hurt is you. The person you envy probably doesn't even know (and probably could care less).

A crab fisherman was once asked why he didn't put a lid on the bucket that held his day's catch. He replied, "The moment one of them climbs out, the others reach up and pull it back down again."

We do the same thing, don't we? You come back down here with the rest of us! How dare you succeed? How dare you do well?

The apostle Paul warned, "But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" (Galatians5:15).

As believers, our competition is with the world, the flesh, and the devil (see 1 John2:15–16), not with fellow Christians.

~Greg Laurie~

Pioneers of the Heavenly Way # 2

A Pilgrimage Related to Heaven

And what we find in the Old Testament is a pilgrimage, all the way through: a pilgrimage in relation to heaven. Let us step right back to the beginning. You see, the Divine intention in creation was that such a harmony should obtain between heaven and earth that God could be here in this world in pleasure, in happiness, in rest, just as much as He could be in His heaven. He made it for His pleasure, He made it for Himself, He made it that He might come and go in perfect satisfaction and rest and joy. The first picture is of God being pleased to come to the world which He had created. He made it, it was His work, and we are told that when He had made it He entered into His rest. His rest was found in being here in His creation.

Ah, but since the tragedy of the fall, heaven and earth have lost their harmony; they are now at variance. This world is in conflict with heaven. Everything here on this earth has been changed. So far as the world is concerned, God has no pleasure in being in it or coming to it. His presence here is in testimony, not in fullness - in testimony that this is His rightful place, in testimony to the fact that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" (Psalm 24:1), in testimony that He made it for His own pleasure. But God is here only in testimony, in token. He must have that testimony, but He is not now here in fullness. In a very real sense and in a very large degree, God is outside of this world, and there is conflict between heaven and the world; and even while there is testimony here, that very testimony is here and not here. It is outside. The very vessel of the testimony of God's presence is something that does not belong here. Here is has no dwelling; here it has no city. It is 'in', but not 'of'. It is a stranger in this world. So it has been since the fall.

Now the whole history of Divinely apprehended instruments for that testimony, whether they be individual or whether they be corporate, is the history of spiritual pioneering in relation to heaven. Have you grasped that? Let me repeat it. The whole history of vessels Divinely chosen and apprehended for the testimony of God, whether they be individual or corporate, is the history of pioneers breaking a way, cleaving a way through, doing  something which was new so far as this world was concerned, breaking fresh ground, making fresh discoveries in relation to heaven; pioneers of a heavenly realm. How much history is gathered into a statement like that!

For Pilgrims the Center of Gravity is in Heaven

Let us look at one or two of the features of this pioneer vocation. First o all, those who are called from heaven, apprehended by heaven, to serve the heavenly purpose, find that their center of gravity has been inwardly and spiritually changed and transferred from this world to heaven. Inside there is a deep-seated  sense that we do not belong here, that this world is not our resting place, that this is not our home and this is not our center of gravity; we are not drawn to it inwardly. Within the spirit of the pioneer there is this sense of conflict with what is here, of being at variance with it and unable to accept it. I repeat: inwardly and spiritually, the center of gravity has been transferred from this world  to heaven. It is an inborn consciousness, and it is the first thing in this heavenly calling, the first effect, the first result of our calling from on high. We are going to come back to that again later on.

And we can test by this. Of course, it is true of the simplest child of God. The first consciousness of one born, truly born, from above, is that the center of gravity has changed. Somehow or other, inwardly, we have moved from one world to another, Somehow or other, that to which we have hitherto been related by nature no longer holds us: it is no longer our world. Put it how we will, that is the consciousness, and unless it is so there is something very doubtful about any profession of faith in the Lord Jesus. And this inborn sense of a new center of gravity has to grow and grow and grow and make it more and more impossible for us to accept this world in any way. Again I say, it is a test of our spiritual progress, of our pilgrimage and our advance in it. But that is elementary after all.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 3 - "The Heavenly Realm Unknown to us by Nature")

The Pit of Pride

The fifth and the final reason your life may be in the pits is pride.  We always need to check our hearts for pride.

In Isaiah 14:13-15 we read,

For you have said in your heart:  "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High."  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.

This passage records God's rebuke of Satan when he was kicked out of heaven.  Satan was talking real big with pride oozing from every word that he said.

But God said, "That's what you think.  I'm going to throw you down to the pit."  And because of the pride in his heart, Satan will indeed be thrown down to a pit for all eternity (read Revelation 20!).

Pride is a dangerous thing.  In fact, so dangerous we are told in 1 Timothy 3:6 to not put a novice into a leadership role in the Church, lest being puffed up with pride, he or she falls into the same condemnation as the devil.

Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride is a weird thing.  It's like bad breath.  Everybody seems to know you have it before you do!  But pride will not only get you into a pit, it will destroy you.

I want to challenge you today.  If your life is in the pits, check to see if it is because of your pride.  If so, humble yourself, otherwise you are not going to get out!

~Bayless Conley~

Pioneers of the Heavenly Way

The Fact and Nature of the Heavenly Way

Hebrews 11:13-16

Some time before these messages were given, desiring to be quiet and away from many things, I went down into the country with my heart very much to the Lord for His word. In the early hours of the morning it seemed as though the heavens opened and everything became alive: it all open up wonderfully, and centered in one phrase - "Pioneers of the Heavenly Way." That really does sum up the verses that we have just read, and, while we are going to think and perhaps say much about the heavenly way, it is this matter of pioneering the heavenly way that will be our main concern. It is necessary, to begin with, for us to consider to some extent the heavenly way itself, but I repeat that it is this whole tremendous business of "pioneering" that way that I believe to be the main concern of the Lord, and hence of ourselves, at this time.

The Earth Related to Heaven

The Bible begins with the heavens: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" - not 'the earth and the heavens'; the heavens come first. The Bible closes with the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21:2); and, just as heaven stands t the beginning and at the end, so everything in between, in the Word of God, from the beginning to the end, is from heaven and to heaven. As it is in the natural realm, so it is in the spiritual. The heavens govern the earth and the earthly, and the earthly has to answer to the heavenly. It is the heavens, it is heaven, that is ultimate: everything has to be in the light of heaven, to answer to heaven, to come out from heaven. That is the sum of the Word of Go, the whole content of the Scriptures.

This world, this earth, is not unrelated and alone. However important it may be in the Divine scheme of things - and certainly it is an object of great heavenly concern; perhaps the greatest things in the universe have taken place on this earth: God has come here in flesh, has lived here, has given Himself for this world; the great drama of eternal counsels has to do with this earth - nevertheless i is not apart, alone, it is related to heaven, and all its significance is by reason of that relationship. It takes its significance and importance from being related to something greater than itself - to heaven.

The Bible teaches that God is located in heaven. "God is in heaven (Eccles. v. 2): that is the declaration. It teaches that there is a system, an order, in heaven, which is the true one and which is the ultimate one. In the end, it will be the reproduction of a heavenly order upon this earth which will be the consummation of all the counsels of God. Christ came down from heaven and returned to heaven. The Christian, as a child of God, is born from heaven and has his life centered in heaven, and the life of the child of God will be consummated in heaven. The Church, that masterpiece of God, is of heavenly origin, of heavenly calling, and of heavenly destiny. In all these things, and in many others, "the heavens do rule" (Daniel 4:26). This great factor of heaven governs everything.

Children of God Related to Heaven

As for ourselves, if we are children of God our whole education and history is related to heaven. That is one of the matters we must follow out presently in greater detail; but let it be said, and let it at once be recognized, that our whole history and education as children of God is related to heaven - and by that I do not mean simply that we are going to heaven. We are related to the kingdom of the heavens, by birth, by sustenance and by eternal vocation. All our education, I have said, is related to heaven. All that you and I have to learn is as to how it is done in  heaven; as to what the Lord meant when He said, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth" (Matthew 6:10) - a great comprehensive fragment covering all the education of the child of God, for that prayer begins with "Our Father who art in heaven". For as things are in heaven, so they must be here; but a whole lifetime of education, deep and drastic training, is involved in conformity to heaven.

The Bible of the Christians in New Testament times was the Old Testament. When we read in the New Testament, as we so often do, about the Scriptures - "that the Scriptures might be fulfilled", "as it is written in the Scriptures", and so on - it was the Old Testament that was referred to. The Old Testament was the only Scripture, the only Bible, of the first Christians, the Christians of the first decades. They had not got our New Testament. For them the Old Testament was the Bible, and it was continuously drawn upon, referred to, taken up and used in order to exemplify the spiritual experience of Christians. This letter to the Hebrews, from which we quoted at the outset, is just that. From beginning to end it is packed with the Old Testament; the Old Testament is being unceasingly used to illustrate and set forth the meaning of the spiritual life of the New Testament Christian.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 2 - "A Pilgrimage Related to Heaven")

When Trouble Comes

When we are afflicted, suffering, or in trouble, God tells us what we should do: Come before His presence and pray. Why? For one thing, it may just be that God will remove that problem because of our prayers. That is not to say that God will always take away our afflictions, suffering, or troubles; but sometimes He does.

By simply bringing our circumstances before the Lord and acknowledging our need and dependence upon Him, we can see God intervene in the situations that most trouble us. Prayer can also give us the grace we need to endure trouble and be brought much closer to God.

James 5:13 tells us, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." The word suffering used here could also be translated "in trouble" or "in distress." Is anyone among you in trouble? Are you distressed? Then you should pray.

So when the bottom drops out, when you feel you are hanging by just a thread, when circumstances have become incredibly difficult, or when they have grown worse by the minute, what should you do? You should pray. Come into the Lord's presence, humbly and thankfully, and pray. Pray when you are afflicted. Pray when you are sick. Pray when some sin has overtaken you. Pray when specific needs occur.

Pray, and don't give up.

~Greg Laurie~

An Assured Hope

An Assured Hope is a True and Scriptural Thing

First, then, I will try to show you that an assured hope is a true and Scriptural thing.

Assurance, such as Paul expresses in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, is not a mere fancy or feeling. It is not the result of high animal spirits, or a sanguine temperament of body. it is a positive gift of the Holy Spirit, bestowed without reference to men's bodily frames or constitutions, and a gift which every believer in Christ ought to aim at and seek after.

The Word of God appears to me to teach that a believer may arrive at an assured confidence with regard to his own salvation.

I would lay it down fully and broadly, that a true Christian, a converted man or woman, may reach that comfortable degree of faith in Christ, that in general he shall feel entirely confident as to the pardon and safety of his soul, shall seldom be troubled with doubts, seldom be distracted with hesitation, seldom be distressed by anxious  questionings, and, in short, though vexed by many an inward conflict with sin, shall look forward to death without trembling, and to judgment without dismay.

Such is my account of assurance. I will ask you to mark it well. I say neither less nor more than I have here laid down.

Now, such a statement as this is often disputed and denied. Many cannot see the truth of it at all.

The Church of Rome denounces assurance in the most unmeasured terms. The Council of Trent declares roundly, that a "believer's assurance of the pardon of his sins is a vain and ungodly confidence;" and Cardinal Bellarmine, the well-known champion of Romanism, calls it "a prime error of heretics."

The vast majority of the worldly among ourselves oppose the doctrine of assurance. It offends and annoys them to hear of it. They do not like others to feel comfortable and sure, because they never feel so themselves. That they cannot receive it is certainly no marvel.

But there are also some true believers who reject assurance, or shrink from ti as a doctrine fraught with danger. They consider it borders on presumption. They seem to think it a proper humility never to be confident, and to live in a certain degree of doubt. This is to be regretted, and does much harm.

I frankly allow there are some presumptuous persons who profess to feel a confidence for which they have no Scriptural warrant. There always are some people who think well of themselves when God thinks ill, just as there are some who think ill of themselves when God thinks will. There always will be such. There never yet was a Scriptural truth without abuses and counterfeits. God's election, - man's impotence, - salvation by grace, - all are alike abused. There will be fanatics and enthusiasts as long as the world stands. But, for all this, assurance is a real, sober, and true thing; and God's children must not let themselves be driven from the use of a truth, merely because it is abused.

My answer to all who deny the existence of real, well-grounded assurance is simply this, -What saith the Scripture? If assurance be not there, I have not another word to say.

But does not Job say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God"? (Job 19:25, 26).

Does not David say, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me"? (Psalm 23:4).

Does not Isaiah say, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee"? (Isaiah 26:3).

And again, "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever" (Isaiah 32:17).

Does not Paul say to the Romans, "I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, not height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"? (Romans 8:38, 39).

Does he not say to the Corinthians, "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"? (2 Corinthians 5:1)

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 2)

Peace, Joy and Contentment

Nehemiah 2:1-8

Discouragement can rob peace, joy, and contentment. But I have great news if you feel disheartened: You’re not stuck!

I’ve known people who appeared to be in an impossible situation. A few years later, however, they were in a terrific place, either in terms of their circumstances or their emotions. The reason? They never gave up. Instead of sulking in self-pity, they chose to believe God, step out in faith, and climb out of the emotional pit.

Nehemiah is a good example. He had every reason to feel defeated, because his people were in trouble. After receiving news that the city wall had been destroyed, this man of God acknowledged profound disappointment and grieved. Though pain flooded his soul, he didn’t allow himself to stay in that low place. Instead, Nehemiah cried out to God, seeking direction.

Sadness in the presence of royalty was punishable by death. But the Lord answered Nehemiah’s prayer with amazing power, prompting the king to notice his servant’s sad countenance and then toask what he could do to help. This miracle led to the rebuilding of the wall and the redemption of God’s people.

The Lord can take an impossible situation—no matter what it is—and move in ways mightier than you can imagine.

Do you live in eager expectation of what the Lord will do? Or have you chosen to linger in the depths of despair? Like Nehemiah, turn your disappointment into a petition for God’s help. He can restore your hope and prevent negative emotions from gaining a stranglehold on your life.

~Charles Stanley~