Participants: Jill Morikone
Series Code: HLFT
Program Code: HLFT000016A
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00:25 Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift.
00:27 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that you 00:30 have joined us today. 00:31 We're in the middle of a journey toward hope, toward healing, 00:36 toward the transformation that the Lord Jesus Christ wants to 00:39 work in your life and in mine, as women, as daughters of God. 00:45 If you're just joining us for the first time, 00:47 we began our journey looking at forgiveness, 00:50 the forgiveness God wants to clothe us with, 00:53 the forgiveness He wants to pour into our hearts so that we can 00:57 reach out and extend that to someone else. 00:59 We moved into fear, and those bands that hold us tightly, 01:03 and how Jesus came to set us free. 01:07 Next we discussed sadness, and how God wants to turn 01:11 our sorrow into joy. 01:13 And we just finished our section on purity; 01:17 on the purity that Jesus can cleanse us, can forgive us, 01:21 and can help us extend to our brothers in Christ. 01:24 Our topic today is the subject of pride. 01:28 Our Scripture is Romans 12:3, Romans 12:3. 01:34 If you have your Bible, I invite you to open up and follow along. 01:37 If not, you can get out a paper and a pen, 01:40 and jot the reference down. 01:41 The Bible says, For I say, through the grace given to me, 01:47 to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more 01:52 highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, 01:56 as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 02:01 Let's pray. Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus. 02:06 Thank You that you see ourself. 02:09 You see each one of us, and You say, I love you. 02:12 You are My daughter. 02:14 Thank You that You want to work in our hearts 02:18 and remove anything that's displeasing to You. 02:22 Right now we open up our hearts and ask that You could teach 02:26 us from Your Word. 02:28 And we thank You in the precious and the holy 02:31 name of Jesus, Amen. 02:33 It had been a difficult week. 02:36 Not difficult in the sense of bank overdrafts, 02:40 or a car breaking down, or anything like that. 02:44 It was a difficult state of the mind. 02:47 It was one of those weeks where I would pray in the morning, 02:51 and I felt like my prayers hit the ceiling, bounced back, 02:55 and they just tumbled all around me. 02:57 I felt like when I opened the Word of God, 03:00 normally I feel like the Word of God excites me, and makes me 03:06 want to follow Jesus even more. 03:08 But this particular week, when I opened up my Bible 03:12 I would read, and you know what happened? 03:16 I got nothing. I got nothing. 03:19 It felt like it was dry; it was dead. 03:24 And I know there's not an issue with the Bible. 03:27 The Bible is not dry, neither is the Bible dead, 03:30 because it is the words of God, so I know the fault 03:35 is not with the Bible. 03:36 It was an issue with me. 03:37 It was a state in my mind, and I didn't know what was causing it. 03:42 I knew Psalm 66:18. 03:46 David the Psalmist says, If I regard iniquity in my heart, 03:51 the Lord will not hear me. 03:54 And I knew what that Psalm said, so I went to God, 03:58 and I prayed Psalm 139:23, 24 over my life. 04:02 I pray this one often, several times a week. 04:05 It says, Search me, O God, and know my heart: 04:09 try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there's any 04:14 wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 04:17 And I prayed that. 04:19 And I'm being honest with you, nothing came to mind. 04:22 I couldn't think of anything between me and Jesus. 04:25 So I continued that day, and it just seemed sluggish and tiring. 04:31 Once you have tasted what communion with God is like, 04:36 once you have tasted fellowship with Jesus, 04:39 when you don't have that life is horrible. 04:43 It's miserable. And that's how I was. 04:46 First day passed, second day passed, third day passed. 04:50 This was becoming tough. 04:52 I shared my struggle with my husband, Greg, and I said, 04:55 I don't know what's wrong. 04:56 I just have a disconnect in my walk with Jesus. 05:00 There's a disconnect in my relationship with Him. 05:04 What is causing this? 05:05 And he said, I have no idea, but God knows. 05:09 So we knelt down by our couch and we prayed, 05:12 and we asked God to show us. 05:14 Is there sin? If so, what is it? 05:16 Please reveal to us what is causing this disconnect. 05:20 I know sometimes God wants to trust us with His silence, 05:24 and I know that, and I thought, Is this His silent time? 05:27 or what's going on? 05:28 Friday passed, same. 05:31 Sabbath morning I had my study of the Word of God, 05:34 I had my prayer time, and it was the same thing. 05:37 The Word didn't refresh me, and I felt like my prayers 05:41 hit the ceiling, and bounced back down again. 05:44 Sabbath night I was sitting quietly on the couch, 05:49 and all of a sudden Jesus spoke to my heart. 05:52 Not audible words, but He impressed on my heart, 05:56 and He says, Jill, there is pride in your life. 06:00 Pride is separating you from Me. 06:05 There was pride in my heart. 06:08 Today we're not going to do a self evaluation. 06:12 I know each one of our other programs we like to start 06:17 whatever topic we're discussing with a self evaluation. 06:20 Because I think that's important to discover 06:23 where are we right now. 06:25 Where do we want to be, and to honestly say, 06:27 Where am I right now? 06:29 But this particular program we're not having one, 06:32 because I believe it's difficult to evaluate 06:35 if you have pride in your life. 06:36 If you're like me, probably you can see it in somebody else. 06:41 It's obvious when it's in somebody else. 06:44 But when it's ourself, it's pretty hard to see. 06:49 Maybe we might appear prideful on the outside, 06:55 but inside we're actually humble. 06:56 You know? Maybe it's just an exterior thing. 06:59 Maybe we appear humble, and very self deprecating, 07:03 and we just appear humble, and we kind of put ourselves 07:05 down, but inside what if we're proudful? 07:08 What if we're prideful? 07:10 So we're not doing a self evaluation. 07:13 Jeremiah 17:3, the prophet says, The heart is deceitful above all 07:20 things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? 07:24 The words, desperately wicked, in the Hebrew 07:27 literally mean incurable. 07:29 God's saying, The pride in your heart, Jill, you can't fix. 07:33 You can't try harder. 07:35 You can't attempt to be humble. 07:37 It takes divine surgery. 07:40 It takes the Lord Jesus to remove that from our lives. 07:43 With this program we're beginning several programs 07:46 dealing with pride, and we're dealing with different aspects. 07:50 This program we'll discuss the boastful heart. 07:53 I'm sure you've met people like that. 07:57 That would be the little kid who loudly says, 07:59 I can run the fastest. 08:01 I am the fastest runner. 08:03 It might be the man who's always talking about the brand new 08:07 Mercedes he just got. 08:09 It might be the woman who says, My child is the smartest. 08:14 My child is the best behaved. 08:17 My child is the most beautiful in the room. 08:20 You know that irritating, kind of in your face type of pride. 08:24 We're looking at that this program: the boastful pride. 08:27 Upcoming programs we'll discuss the jealous pride; 08:31 wishing for someone else's position, 08:33 someone else's looks, someone else's husband, 08:38 someone else's money, or even, in Christian circles, 08:41 we wish for someone else's ministry. 08:45 There's the critical pride, you know, the comparing ourselves 08:49 to one another, and always judging; 08:53 looking at, and judging other people. 08:56 There's the fearful pride; afraid when I live my life, 09:01 afraid of what other people think of me, 09:04 what other people are going to say about people, 09:06 what other people are going to do. 09:09 You know, what's amazing to me is that when I look at these 09:12 prides, I see myself in all of them. 09:14 And I know the Lord Jesus says, I want to break you free. 09:18 I want to break you free, Jill, from this pride. 09:22 The last two prides we're going to look at will be 09:24 the offended pride. 09:26 The spirit of offense is the spirit of pride. 09:30 We'll take a look at that. 09:31 Finally, the pride of false humility, or pretending to be 09:36 humble while in reality being proudful inside. 09:40 But today is the boastful pride. 09:42 I'll call him John. 09:45 I met him several years ago. 09:48 As he extended his hand to me he said, My name is John. 09:51 And I said, It's nice to meet you, John. 09:54 And he said, I'm a pianist. 09:58 I'm a professional pianist. 10:00 My ability to play is extraordinary. 10:03 And as he proceeded to regale me with how wonderfully 10:09 he played the piano, I thought about all the truly gifted 10:13 pianists that I know. 10:15 Men and women of extraordinary talent who can make the piano 10:19 laugh, and cry, and sing. 10:22 People's fingers who fly over the keys, yet they never once 10:28 talked about their ability. 10:29 They never once tried to convince me that they were 10:32 an extraordinarily gifted pianist. 10:35 They always sought to lift up other people. 10:38 They always sought to lift up Jesus. 10:42 We've probably met people, you've probably met people, 10:46 like that gifted pianist, Brother John. 10:49 And, by the way, I never heard him play, so I can't say if 10:52 his assessment was accurate or not. 10:54 It reminds me of a verse in 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 10. 10:59 We're going to take a look at verse 18, 2 Corinthians 10:18. 11:07 For not he who commends himself is approved, 11:12 but whom the Lord commends. 11:16 He was a young man, apparently successful in battle. 11:21 In fact he was extremely successful in battle. 11:24 He succeeded in extending the reach of the empire 11:28 of his father's kingdom while he was very young, 11:32 probably a late teenager. 11:34 His father died leaving the throne to him. 11:37 He was a fair ruler. 11:39 He was fairly just for those times, and he was a wise ruler. 11:45 He beautified his capitol city. 11:48 He had the most important; he had men in his court who loved 11:56 and honored the God of heaven, and it gave him a chance 12:01 to learn not his heathen god's and idol's that he normally 12:07 worshipped, but it gave him a chance to learn about 12:10 the true God, Jehovah. 12:12 The king I'm referring to is Nebuchadnezzar. 12:16 We find his story in the book of Daniel. 12:20 Daniel, the whole book, really talks about Nebuchadnezzar. 12:24 And in Daniel 3 we have the three Hebrews thrown 12:30 into the fiery furnace. 12:31 Now we're in Daniel 4. 12:34 Nebuchadnezzar had a second dream. 12:36 Remember back in Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had that dream 12:40 about the image, the image with the head of gold, 12:43 and it had the silver, and the bronze, and the iron, 12:46 and then the feet were of iron and of clay? 12:49 Remember he wanted to kill all the wise men of Babylon because 12:54 they could not tell the source of his dream? 12:57 But God, in a dream, revealed the dream and its interpretation 13:03 to the prophet Daniel, and he told that dream 13:07 to king Nebuchadnezzar. 13:08 After some time pride began to build up in 13:13 Nebuchadnezzar's heart. 13:14 We see that in Daniel 3 when he built the golden image. 13:19 The whole thing was gold, not just the head. 13:23 Nebuchadnezzar said, I don't just want to be the head, 13:25 and then after me another kingdom arise. 13:28 I want it all to be about me. 13:32 And so he had that image built. 13:35 And Daniel 4, we're just one chapter later, God in His love, 13:40 in His mercy, He gave king Nebuchadnezzar a dream. 13:45 It was a dream about a tree that was high, and lofty, 13:49 and beautiful, but yet it was cut down, and the stump remained 13:55 with a band around it for seven times. 13:59 And then it was restored. 14:01 The king was distressed. 14:02 What did this dream mean? 14:04 And Daniel the prophet, again came to the king and said, 14:09 This is what it means. 14:10 Your pride is really lifting you up. 14:14 Your pride is lifting you up. 14:17 And he said, Oh king, please listen to my advice, please. 14:23 Verse 27, Daniel 4. 14:26 Break off your sins, please. 14:29 Well, maybe for a little while Nebuchadnezzar 14:32 headed that advice. 14:34 Verse 29 it says, At the end of twelve months he was walking 14:39 about the royal palace of Babylon. 14:41 And Daniel 4:30, The king spoke, saying, Is not this great 14:47 Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty 14:51 power, and for the honor of my majesty? 14:54 And the Bible says, While the word was still in the king's 14:57 mouth,... That means he was still speaking. 15:00 I created this empire. 15:02 It's all about me! 15:04 I'm the one who did it. 15:05 While he said that, immediately the prophecy was fulfilled, 15:11 and he went insane. 15:13 He was driven from living with people. 15:16 He went out in the grass. 15:18 He had to eat grass. 15:21 He had to be like an oxen, or any other beast of the field. 15:25 For seven years this happened. 15:29 But God is merciful. 15:31 He brought Nebuchadnezzar full circle back again. 15:36 We see the redemption. 15:38 We saw the judgment, but we see the redemption 15:41 of our Father in heaven. 15:43 After he lived for seven years like an ox, then he acknowledged 15:48 that God is ruler of all. 15:51 That He alone can give, and He alone can take away, 15:55 and all glory, all honor belongs to Him alone. 16:01 We see the praise that Nebuchadnezzar offered to God. 16:04 This is in Daniel 4:37. 16:07 He said, Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor 16:11 the king of heaven, all of whose works are truth, 16:15 and His ways justice: and those who walk in pride 16:20 He's able to humble, or He is able to put down. 16:25 I don't know how you feel in your own life today. 16:29 You might be saying, I know there's pride in my life, 16:32 because I think everything I've achieved in my work, in my home, 16:37 in my ministry, with my church, my status; I did it myself. 16:45 If you're in that condition, don't lose heart, 16:48 don't be discouraged. 16:50 God never shows us the junk in our heart to discourage us, 16:54 or to bring condemnation. 16:56 He always shows us our hearts so that we can turn to Him, 17:01 so that He can restore us, redeem us, and create in us 17:08 a meek and humble spirit. 17:10 So what is God's solution for the boastful heart? 17:13 What is God's solution? 17:15 I think it's twofold. 17:17 1. Behold Jesus. I think the boastful heart never 17:22 really sees Jesus. 17:24 We're so busy looking at ourselves, looking inward at 17:27 ourselves, and our own accomplishments, that we never 17:30 look heavenward at the Lord Jesus Christ. 17:33 When God says to behold Me, it's a constant beholding. 17:38 It's not a quick in the morning, Okay, I read one verse. 17:42 I'm good, God. I'm done, I'm done. 17:44 I'm going to go about my day and what I'm doing. 17:47 No, when we behold Jesus, it's a beholding in the morning. 17:52 Time with Jesus. It's a beholding throughout 17:57 the day as you drive in the car, as you go to work, 18:01 as you converse with other people. 18:03 It's bringing thoughts of Jesus back into 18:07 my heart, and into my mind. 18:08 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, But we all, with open face beholding 18:15 as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same 18:19 image from glory to glory. 18:22 How does God change us? by beholding Jesus. 18:27 My husband Greg, he's told this story, so I'm not 18:30 telling a story on him. 18:32 He's okay with me sharing it. 18:33 He is, in my opinion, this may be a little prideful on my part, 18:37 but I think he's one of the best drivers that I know. 18:40 He drives very defensively. 18:43 He doesn't throw you all around the car, as some people do. 18:49 You know you screech to a stop, and you go again quickly, 18:52 and you're thrown around. 18:53 He's very smooth when he drives. 18:56 He's constantly checking his surroundings, 18:59 checking the rear view mirror, looking ahead, looking around. 19:02 He's just a good driver, and I feel very safe when he drives. 19:07 Well, this particular time he was driving on the Interstate. 19:10 Here in Southern Illinois we have fairly flat terrain. 19:16 Now with that flat terrain comes a certain sameness to the road. 19:21 There's a sameness to that white dotted line zipping past. 19:25 There's a sameness to the fields of corn, 19:28 or the fields of soybeans. 19:31 Open prairie land, and it's beautiful. 19:34 I love it. But there's a certain sameness to it. 19:37 So this one day he said he was driving, 19:41 and there's the monotony of the road after hours in the car. 19:46 And all of a sudden he said, up ahead he saw a pothole. 19:49 And he said expertly he turned the wheel, 19:53 and he avoided the pothole. 19:54 That's something he's very good at. 19:56 And when I drive I usually hit the pothole. 20:00 I'm just not real good at that. 20:01 But he sees it and he goes right around it. 20:04 Well, he said after he avoided the pothole, he looked in the 20:07 rearview mirror to check and see how the car 20:11 behind him was faring. 20:13 Did they avoid the pothole as well as he did? 20:18 He said, Just when he looked in the rearview mirror, 20:21 you guessed what happened. 20:23 He hit the an even bigger pothole! 20:27 You see there were two in the road. 20:28 They were just a little distance apart. 20:30 But it was timed perfectly that when he looked behind, 20:33 that's when he hit the next pothole. 20:36 And I think when we behold Jesus we don't look behind us. 20:40 We don't say, I wonder how Sally, and Jimmy, and Joe 20:44 are doing back here. 20:45 I wonder if they're progressing in their Christian life 20:48 as well as I'm progressing. 20:50 I wonder? I wonder how they're doing next to me? 20:54 Am I keeping pace with them in the Christian walk? 20:58 No, we don't look at people to say, They're doing worse, 21:02 or they're doing the same. We look to Jesus. 21:06 When we look to Jesus, He wants to change us. 21:10 That verse in 2 Corinthians 3, As we behold, He changes us 21:16 into His image. I love that. 21:20 Remember the Biblical principle we shared a few programs ago 21:24 Galatians 6:6, 7? What does it say? 21:28 It says,... Let's jump over there real quick. 21:30 It's the law of sowing and reaping. 21:33 The law of sowing and reaping. 21:36 It's a great verse, and it talks about... 21:42 One more page; I got it. 21:44 Here we go. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: 21:51 for whatever man sows, that will he also reap. 21:54 He who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap corruption; 21:59 but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit 22:03 reap everlasting life. 22:06 It's a Biblical principle that what we sow, 22:10 we're going to reap. 22:12 It's also a Biblical principle that what we feed grows, 22:17 and what we starve dies. 22:20 So instead of me trying to become humble, 22:23 trying to not look at myself... 22:25 In that I become all absorbed about myself. 22:29 Instead of that look to Jesus. 22:32 See Him in His purity. 22:34 See Him in His holiness. 22:36 See Him in His love. 22:38 And as we do that, we will be changed into His image. 22:44 I told you there are two solutions to the boastful heart. 22:48 1. Is to behold Jesus. 22:50 And I think that's key. 22:51 2. Is to give thanks. Give thanks. 22:57 This comes from a book written by Andrew Murray. 23:00 I like his writing. 23:01 The book is called, Humility and Absolute Surrender. 23:04 It says: Accept with gratitude everything that God allows 23:11 from within or without, from friend or enemy, 23:16 in nature or in grace, to remind you of your need of humbling, 23:23 and to help you to it. 23:25 What's he saying? Be thankful. 23:29 Be thankful for whatever comes from a friend of yours, 23:33 or from an enemy of yours, whatever comes from nature, 23:37 or in grace, whatever comes from inside you, 23:40 or whatever comes from outside of you, whatever trial, 23:44 whatever circumstance you are in that shows you your pride, 23:49 your need of humbling, accept that with gratitude. 23:54 Don't fight it. Don't run from it. 23:57 Don't say, I don't like the junk, 23:59 so I'm going to turn my back. 24:01 Open your heart to it. 24:03 Say, Thank You, Jesus, for showing me my heart. 24:07 Thank You for showing me the junk that's still inside. 24:13 Have that spirit of gratitude, and then behold Jesus. 24:18 We're going to take a short break here. 24:20 When we come back we want to do our practical application. 24:25 Something that you can do this week; something that you can 24:29 take with you this week that will be, hopefully, a help and 24:32 encouragement to you in your walk with Jesus. |
Revised 2016-06-01