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The
Leavening of Pride and Vanity
On Passover
we washed each other’s feet, a demonstration of humility. Today, March 22,
2008, is the first day of unleavened bread per Lev. 23:6-8. How do we plan
to benefit from these days?
(1 Cor
5:6-8) Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven
works through the whole batch of dough? {7} Get rid of the old leaven that
you may be a new batch without leaven--as you really are. For Christ, our
Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. {8} Therefore let us keep the
Festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness,
but with bread without leaven, the bread of sincerity and truth.
What is Paul
telling us? Isn't he saying that we are to change - into a new batch
without leaven? What is leaven in us? Leaven is often compared with sin.
But in this verse leaven is specifically compared with puffiness; not the
puffiness many of us carry around our waists, but with vanity or pride,
where we think we are more than we really are. What should we plan to gain
in our attitude, character, and personality from these Days of Unleavened
Bread? Or are we simply going to modify our diet for awhile?
Today let’s
discuss several aspects of vanity and pride.
First let’s
look at some general dangers of pride and vanity.
(Prov 8:13)
To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil
behavior and perverse speech.
Pride is one
human trait very much hated by God. Countless examples in both the Old
and New Testaments confirm this. But, God is instantly forgiving when
pride is replaced by humility.
(1 Cor
4:6,18) Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos
for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying,
"Do not go beyond what is written," proudly taking the side of one
religious leader against another. .......{18} When I didn’t come to visit
you, some of you have become arrogant.
We must not
become so attached to our choices, even one teacher over another, that we
become proud of that association to the total exclusion of all others.
Are we proud
of our knowledge of God's word and our attempts to follow His teachings?
Notice:
(1 Cor
8:1-3) Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess
knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. {2} The
man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
{3} But the man who loves God is known by God.
Vanity is
hard for a person to see. I'm sure we all think about that when we listen
to someone expound on an on about himself....but we must remember that
pride was the original sin in Satan.
(Ezek
28:14-17) You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained
you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
{15} You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till
wickedness was found in you. {16} Through your widespread trade you were
filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the
mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery
stones. {17} Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and
you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you
to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
Do not use
your successes to inflate your ego. This is also described in Timothy's
requirements for a bishop or overseer:
(1 Tim 3:6)
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and
fall under the same judgment as the devil.
But notice
the attitude of Satan:
(Isa
14:12-14) How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the
dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the
nations! {13} You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will
raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount
of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. {14} I will
ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most
High."
(Prov 16:18)
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
(Gen 3:1-6)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God
had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat
from any tree in the garden'?" {2} The woman said to the serpent, "We may
eat fruit from the trees in the garden, {3} but God did say, 'You must not
eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must
not touch it, or you will die.'" {4} "You will not surely die," the
serpent said to the woman. {5} "For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil." {6} When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food
and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took
some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and
he ate it.
Here we see
Satan's appeal to Eve's vanity and Eve’s weakness to it.
There is a
direct link between vanity and rebellion. The Old Testament has many
examples of people who thought too much of themselves and their opinions:
(Num
12:1-10) Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his
Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. {2} "Has the LORD spoken only
through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the
LORD heard this. {3} (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than
anyone else on the face of the earth.) {4} At once the LORD said to
Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of
you." So the three of them came out. {5} Then the LORD came down in a
pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron
and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, {6} he said, "Listen to my
words: "When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in
visions, I speak to him in dreams. {7} But this is not true of my servant
Moses; he is faithful in all my house. {8} With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then
were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" {9} The
anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. {10} When the
cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam--leprous, like snow.
Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy;
Do any of us
have the attitudes of Miriam? Do we respect those selected by God to
teach and lead us? Do we respect the instructions of God given by
scripture? Or do we insist on our own independent course? How many of us
insist on our own way, right or wrong?
(Num
16:2-11) [Now Korah took men]...and rose up against Moses. With them were
250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed
members of the council. {3} They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron
and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,
every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set
yourselves above the Lord's assembly?" {4} When Moses heard this, he fell
face down. {5} Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the
morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will
have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come
near him. {6} You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take
censers {7} and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The
man the LORD chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone
too far!" {8} Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! {9}
Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the
rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the
work at the Lord's tabernacle and to stand before the community and
minister to them? {10} He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near
himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. {11} It is
against the LORD that you and all your followers have banded together.
Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?"
Again, there
is a direct link between vanity and rebellion.
Many people
of our day are doing the same thing. They are not just protesting against
capital punishment and for abortion, for instance. They are banding
together to oppose the laws of God, the laws of nation, and the mores of
society. They want to protect the lives of the criminals while taking the
lives of innocent babies. Does this remind you of Christ’s judgment
before Pilate where the people insisted on releasing the murderer Barabbas,
while at the same time insisting on the crucifixion of our innocent Savior
in his stead. For our rebellion, our beloved country courts the same fate
as ancient Israel ...the curses of natural disasters, economic failure,
foreign domination, captivity and death .
Notice how
Paul describes Israel’s punishment.
(1 Cor 10:5)
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were
scattered over the desert.
(verses
11-12) These things happened to them as examples and were written down
as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. {12}
So, if you think you are standing firmly and securely, be careful that you
don't fall!
These are
the risks and dangers of pride and vanity.
What must we
do to be unleavened from our puffed up, vain nature?
First,
recognize the tendency toward vanity, self, ego, pride, self
importance.....
(Psa 19:12)
- David recognized this by saying:
Who can
discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
One way to
avoid vanity is to not allow ourselves to become too comfortable in our
situation....Notice how Saul's attitude changed in 1 Sam 9 and 1 Sam 15:
(1 Sam
9:15-17) Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to
Samuel: {16} "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land
of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my
people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for
their cry has reached me." {17} When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD
said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my
people."
and
continuing in verse 21:
Saul
answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel,
and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of
Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"
Notice
Saul's sincere humility...No sign of vanity here. But as we continue into
chapter 15, notice the change:
(1 Sam
15:17) Samuel said, "When you were once small in your own eyes, did
you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you
king over Israel.
continuing
in verse 22-23 after Saul had disobeyed the LORD:
But Samuel
replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much
as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than
sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. {23} For
rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the
evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he
has rejected you as king."
skip to
verse 26-28
But Samuel
said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of
the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!" {27} As
Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it
tore. {28} Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel
from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors--to one better
than you.
Saul had
started humble but became presumptuous. Are we guilty of being
presumptuous? Do we insist on having our own way, right or wrong? Is it
“our way or the highway?”
Read all of
chapters 9 and 15 to see the whole situation. We must not allow ourselves
to lose our kingdom too.
Let’s look
at some other scriptures which demonstrate the dangers of vanity.
(Num 20:8-12
NKJV) "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation
together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its
water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink
to the congregation and their animals." {9} So Moses took the rod from
before the LORD as He commanded him. {10} And Moses and Aaron gathered the
assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you
rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" {11} Then
Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and
water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
{12} Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in
Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you
shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
Unfortunately, Moses claimed part of the credit for God’s miracle of
getting water out of a rock instead of giving God all the credit. Do we
also have a spirit of over-confidence in self, self-importance, and
presumptuousness?
(Deu 1:42-45
NKJV) "And the LORD said to me, 'Tell them, "Do not go up nor fight, for
I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies."' {43} "So I
spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command
of the LORD, and presumptuously went up into the mountain. {44} "And the
Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as
bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. {45} "Then you returned
and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor
give ear to you.
These were
the results of having a vain confidence in going it alone.
(Deu 18:22
NKJV) "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does
not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not
spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid
of him.
This
scripture is a warning to avoid vain prophets. Here are four more
worthwhile instructions toward avoiding the negative results of vanity:
(Psa 19:13
NKJV) Keep back your servant [i.e. David] also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall
be innocent of great transgression.
(Prov 27:1
NKJV) Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may
bring forth.
It is better
to say, “Tomorrow I will do such and such, God willing.” Many dedicated
followers of Judaism and Christianity make a habit of saying “God
willing.”
(James
4:13-14 NKJV) Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to
such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a
profit"; {14} whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what
is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then
vanishes away. [Shades of betting on the stock market?]
(Luke
12:17-21 NKJV) "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do,
since I have no room to store my crops?' {18} "So he said, 'I will do
this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store
all my crops and my goods. {19} 'And I will say to my soul [body], "Soul,
you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink,
and be merry."' {20} "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul
will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have
provided?' {21} "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God."
Finally,
don't meddle with things too profound (high) for you. Don't get the idea
that you know more about something than you really do; that experts in the
field and others don't know as much about the matter as you. Humility
includes giving others due respect and consideration for their opinions.
Let’s look at some more scriptures which encourage us to be humble.
(Psa 138:6
NKJV) Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud
He knows from afar.
(Luke 1:48
NKJV) [Mary speaking] For He has regarded the lowly state of His
maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
(James 2:1-5
NKJV) My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with partiality. {2} For if there should come into your
assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also
come in a poor man in filthy clothes, {3} and you pay attention to the one
wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place,"
and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my
footstool," {4} have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become
judges with evil thoughts? {5} Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not
chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the
kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
One method
of seeing yourself, no matter how successful you have been, is to consider
your state as you entered life and whenever you were not blessed with
economical security.
(Psa
131:1-2)......My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do
not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. {2}
But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its
mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
(Prov 29:23)
A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
(Psa 51:17)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O
God, you will not despise.
In
conclusion:
Brethren,
with our observance of the Passover, we have physically
demonstrated an act of humility by foot-washing, reconfirmed our need for
Christ's sacrifice, and rededicated ourselves to living a Godly life. We
have physically put leaven out of our food and homes, like the
Israelites physically sacrificed bulls for a sin offering. But are
we putting sin out of our lives as well? Are we dedicated to putting the
leaven of vanity, pride, self-will and self importance out of our lives
not just this coming week but throughout the rest of our lives? Brethren,
we must live a truly humble life to be accepted by God.
(Mat 18:3-4
NKJV) and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and
become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of
heaven. {4} "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Sermon given
by Wayne Bedwell
22 March 2008
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