If pride could be sold by the
ounce, as are silver and gold, most everyone in the world
today would be
wealthy, but at what cost?
Satan (Lucifer), the father
of sin and all those who follow him, said in his 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.’” (Isaiah 14:13-14)
The pride that consumed Satan
and turned his heart as black as pitch is the same pride that is consuming many
today, and pride gives birth to so many other sins, such as: jealousy, hatred,
murder, greed, theft, etc. It is stealing the souls of millions in our world.
God, especially in the person
of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has been for all intents and purposes
eliminated from our society. We (generally speaking of course) want nothing to
do with God. Unfortunately, where there is a vacuum, something must fill it,
and we most certainly are filling it.
It just blows my mind to
think how far we have sunk in character and morality in just fifty years or
less. The sad thing is we as a society think we have outgrown God. We think we
are smarter than God and know what is best for us all. We embrace anything and everything
that is contrary to what the Word of God plainly states. We put God over in the
corner to keep Him quiet since we know more than He does anyway about the very
book He wrote … the Bible. Actually, we have gone even farther than that, we
think of ourselves as gods.
Along with Eve, we listened
to Satan’s lie, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat
of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)
Yes sir, we bought the lie,
but there is only one message people need today and that message is “We are
sinners bound for hell, and only Jesus Christ can save us.”
I ask, “Where is our humility
toward Almighty God?” Most today have none because it is swallowed up in pride.
Even many so-called leaders of Christianity mock His name by their support for
sin. They rob His people because of their greed. They rob souls because they
won’t speak the Truth and stand up for the Truth. They are wolves in sheep’s
clothing. (Matthew 7:5) People are dying and going to hell because many of
those who know the Truth don’t share it with those who need to hear it.
It is expected that those
without God in their hearts have no respect for God and His Word. Sadly, partly
because there are so many wolves in the pulpits, most of society in our day are
literally fulfilling God’s words:
“Woe to those who call evil
good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light,
and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and
sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in
their own eyes,
And prudent in their own
sight!
Woe to men mighty at drinking
wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing
intoxicating drink,
Who justify the wicked for a
bribe,
And take away justice from
the righteous man!” (Isaiah 5:20-23)
As a saturated sponge, we are
totally consumed by sinful deeds in this land … the land that once served
Almighty God. Instead of the pure water from on high filling our souls, we have
soaked up all the dregs of Satan’s sewers. Our lips speak blasphemies, and our
actions mock the very God who could destroy us all in hell, if He so chose.
(Matthew 10:28)
The wisest man who ever
lived, Solomon, had this to say:
“Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole
duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
To the contrary, most in our
society seem to have, or at least they display, an obnoxious audacity against
God. Society looks toward Heaven with clinched fists and a smirk, cursing the
very God they say they don’t believe in in the first place. They want no
evidence of God (although it’s all around them, Romans 1:18-21), so they
dismantle everything that is Christ related. They hate and ridicule His people,
wishing they would just go away, and they will eventually get their wish
(Rapture).
We, as a society, treat God
as a feeble, white-haired, senile old man that puts His stamp of approval on
all our sins. The Son of God, Jesus, who is God in the flesh, is portrayed as a
wimpy love-child (we used to called them beatniks) who welcomes any and all
into Heaven, even those who want nothing to do with Him. In my opinion, our 21st
century society is more antagonistically disrespectful of the one and only true
God than any before us.
Yet those who really know Him
bow before Him as Savior and Lord. His love is shown by His own sacrifice for
those who will come to Him to be saved from sin. In the same breath, He is God
and demands our respect. Why hasn’t He brought down justice upon this world? He
will. It is commonly referred to as the Tribulation. Thankfully, He is patient,
not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), but those who rally against Him
will perish in due time.
Following are just a few
examples of true humility from men who beheld their own wretchedness in the
light of God’s glory.
ISAIAH
“So I said: “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 6:5)
APOSTLE JOHN
“And when I saw Him, I fell
at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be
afraid; I am the First and the Last.” (Revelation 1:17)
DANIEL
“Therefore I was left alone
when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was
turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.” (Daniel 10:8)
THE APOSTLE PAUL
“O wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)
THE PUBLICAN (TAX COLLECTOR)
““And the tax collector,
standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his
breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13)
JESUS SAID
“For it is written:
“As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall
confess to God.” (Romans 14:11)
Jesus reminds us through the
apostle Paul, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
(Romans 14:11-12)
Then He makes it very clear,
in this passage from Isaiah, who He is:
“For thus says the Lord,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made
it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in
vain,
Who formed it to be
inhabited:
“I am the Lord, and there is
no other.
I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of
Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain’;
I, the Lord, speak
righteousness,
I declare things that are
right.
“Assemble yourselves and
come;
Draw near together,
You who have escaped from the
nations.
They have no knowledge,
Who carry the wood of their
carved image,
And pray to a god that cannot
save.
Tell and bring forth your
case;
Yes, let them take counsel
together.
Who has declared this from
ancient time?
Who has told it from that
time?
Have not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God
besides Me,
A just God and a Savior;
There is none besides Me.
“Look to Me, and be saved, All
you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no
other.
I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My
mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall
bow,
Every tongue shall take an
oath.
He shall say, ‘Surely in the
Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come, And
all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him.”
(Isaiah 45:18-24)
I close with these words from
James and the apostle Peter.
“Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
“Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
(1 Peter 5:6-7)
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
