Pastor T U Thomas (TPM) – Pride, Seed of all Evil!

Series #1

Long before man was created, God created angels. However, some of them fell due to pride.

Hell was not in the plan of God and it was not created to send man there.

God had to prepare hell or everlasting fire for the punishment of the fallen angels or demons –

“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).

So pride is directly connected with hell or pride creates hell and therefore PRIDE IS HELL.

The all-wise God while creating man took all precautions that man may not fall by pride.

God created angels with light and some of them fell because of pride.

However, our loving, caring God made man out of dust so that he has nothing to be proud of the material

with which he was made.

After God made man out of the dust of the ground He planted a garden in Eden and

put the man there (Gen 2:7-8).

Why did God make man out of the ORDINARY DUST OF THE GROUND

and not from the dust of the garden of Eden?

If God had made man in the garden of Eden,

man could have boasted, “I am not made of ordinary dust, but garden dust!”

Our gracious Lord wanted to avoid any proud boastings of man.

Man being the crown of creation,

God could have made him on the very first day of His creation.

Why did God make man on the 6th day, the final day of creation?

And that too on the 6th day after creating all other things including the cattle and the creeping things.

If God had created man on the first day of His creation,

perhaps man could have boasted, “I helped God in the six days of God’s creation.”

Although our all-wise God had taken all the precautions that man should not become proud and fall,

still look at our state.

From the crown of our head to the sole of our feet,

pride like a blood-sucking worm is sticking to us,

yet we are blind to it.

May the Lord open our eyes to get rid of this dangerous blood-sucking worm before it is too late.

Although the love of money is called the root of all evil,

pride is the seed of all evil.

From the seed only the root grows.

In other words, if we get rid of the seed (of pride), we get out all evil.

Remember, God gave the promise, “There shall no evil befall thee” (Psa 91:10)

to those humble saints who dwell in the secret place of the Most High (verse 1),

or those who humbly hide themselves in the Lord.

What a blessed truth – if we are truly humble, the blessed promise is ours – “There shall no evil befall thee.”

Let us tremble at the grim fact, the more we are proud the more we are vulnerable to ALL EVIL.

May the Lord help us to humbly hide ourselves in our Most High God

so that instead of ALL EVIL we may receive ALL GOOD.

What is the first sign of pride?

After a particular situation or problem, you withdraw your love from a particular person.

Or else, after you heard what that person had spoken or done against you or against your family,

you are not able to love that person as you used to.

REMEMBER, YOU ARE ALREADY CAUGHT IN THE SNARE OF PRIDE UNAWARES.

Pride hardens the heart – the very first action of this most terrible monster.

Why is this the first action of pride?

Once your heart is hardened, you are no more sensitive to God’s voice or God’s Word.

You may be able to see other’s pride,

but you become blind to yours.

Humility helps us to be “tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Eph 4:31).

Dear friend, perhaps you may be caught in the snare of pride already.

Already so much evil is taking place in your life and you are wondering why God is not helping you.

Please ask the Lord for the grace to love your enemies with a very special love.

Whatever love you have withdrawn from that person (maybe from your own husband or wife

or mother in law etc.) ask the Lord for grace to restore twofold.

If you have found grace to love your enemies as such,

you are free from the snare of pride. May God bless you.

Series #2

PRIDE AND ANGER GO TOGETHER – A PROUD MAN IS AN ANGRY MAN AND VICE VERSA

Most of the sins in human life are either directly or indirectly connected with pride.

This deadly monster is virtually a bottomless pit.

There is much more evil in pride than anyone can imagine.

Pride makes a person weak spiritually and sometimes physically also.

Lucifer was a mighty angel or perhaps an archangel before he fell due to pride.

The Bible says, he was so great an angel that he had a throne (Isa 14:13).

But after the fall he became weak (Isa 14:10).

On the other hand, true humility makes you strong spiritually and sometimes physically also.

Pride and anger are connected together.

An angry man is a proud man and a proud man is an angry man.

In fact, anger is a sure sign of exceeding pride – “the pride of Moab (he is exceeding proud)

… I know his wrath … ” (Jer 48:29-30).

There are many verses in the Bible to prove that anger and pride go together –

“We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud .. his PRIDE AND HIS WRATH” (Isa 16:6).

“Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in PROUD WRATH” (Pro 21: 24).

Saul was angry with David many times because in his pride,

he could not accept David as the God-appointed king.

King Uzziah was lifted up with pride and was very angry with the servants of God (2 Chr 26:16-19).

The first man (Cain) who got angry committed murder (Gen 4:5 & 8).

Herod was angry and killed all the babies in Bethlehem.

If you are an angry man, (perhaps you may get angry only once in a while) you are indeed a murderer.

Once a Christian told a pastor, “Pastor, I love my wife, but when I get angry, I want to kill her.”

Most of the people who committed murder, first got angry and that led to murder.

Perhaps you have not yet killed anyone, although at times you got angry.

Or you may be very clever in controlling the anger inside of you.

That is worse; like keeping the vomit inside of you, making it poisonous.

How many problems are created by anger in this world?

A HUMBLE PERSON WILL NEVER GET ANGRY OR IRRITATED.

So many sins, including stealing, smoking, drinking, etc., cannot continue in hell.

However, the Bible says, an angry man will continue to be angry in hell;

in fact he will be gnashing or grinding his teeth in anger (Mat 8:12).

In one sense, an angry man is worse than an alcoholic man.

At times when the alcoholic is not under intoxication he may be a good man;

but an angry man is always a dangerous man;

like a volcanic eruption, his anger may bring sudden destruction and death.

Dear friend, perhaps today God may be convicting you of your anger.

You may be justifying your anger and may be finding so many excuses.

None of them are going to help you on the day of judgment.

Anger is a spirit, an evil spirit. The Holy Spirit can dispel it if you cry out to God right now.

There are a number of Christians who found wonderful deliverance from the terrible spirit of anger.

Once that is gone, their lives have been transformed.

Your character can never be changed unless your angry spirit is gone from you.

In some cases, when people were delivered from an angry spirit,

they testified that they felt as if a lion or leopard went out of them.

If you realize that your angry spirit is a demonic spirit,

a terrible murderous spirit which has the potential to murder many,

you will cry out to God from the depths of your heart.

Then you will find complete deliverance and a wonderful peace will dawn in you.

As light comes when darkness is dispelled, so will a gentle spirit fill your heart when the angry spirit leaves.

God is able to bring you to a place that you will have such a gentle spirit

that EVEN IF YOU WANT TO BE ANGRY, YOU CAN’T.

That is the wonderful grace of God.

Series #3

A HUMBLE PERSON CAN NEVER GET OFFENDED OR HURT

It may appear shocking, but true, that the root cause of bitterness,

hatred and hurt feelings is a MOST PROUD SPIRIT.

“The MOST PROUD SHALL stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up” (Jer 50:32).

“Stumble” also means, “offence” or “hurt”.

Almost all bitterness, hatred, resentment etc. are caused by a MOST PROUD SPIRIT.

It is not a surprise that the most proud shall stumble and fall one day, and the Lord instructs,

“none shall raise him up.” No one, man or angel, should go to help the most proud, when he is fallen.

What a terrible statement – when people fall because of various other sins,

they may be helped to get out of the fall,

but when people fall because of pride, no one should try to help.

This should open everyone’s eyes to see the terrible consequences of pride.

Why do people get bitter or hurt?

If you humble yourself and realize you are nothing but dust,

then there is nothing to be offended even if people speak evil of you or treat you badly.

After all “dust” has no right to be offended about even if people trample on it or even spit on it.

A HUMBLE PERSON CAN NEVER GET HURT

(in the negative way, i.e. for being reproached, ridiculed, humiliated, persecuted etc ).

When you are hurt, it is your pride that is hurt.

When you say, “I am deeply hurt”, you are actually saying that you have deep pride.

You may not admit it. Why? Because of pride!

For one minute, think about a beautiful life – free from anger, irritation, hurts, and offences.

Money, mansions, and materials will not make you happy or comfortable.

We often create our own problems.

Your happiness is not based on your surroundings or what is happening to you,

but your happiness is based on how you react to your surroundings or your attitude

towards what is happening to you.

For example, you may plant an apple seed and a wormwood seed in the same garden.

You use the same fertilizer and water for both seeds.

An apple tree will finally produce juicy apples and the wormwood tree will produce very bitter fruits.

Both of them had enjoyed the same water, fertilizer, ground, etc.

Then why the difference? The difference is in the seed.

The apple tree roots take only such elements from the ground that will produce sweet, juicy fruits.

The wormwood tree roots take only such elements from the ground to produce bitter fruits.

So the difference is the state of your heart, which is like a seed.

THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM IS THE PROBLEM OF THE HEART.

In the world, a wormwood tree can never be changed into an apple tree.

Today your heart may be so bitter, even worse than a wormwood plant.

But thank God that he can straightaway change it into an apple tree producing juicy sweet apples.

GOD CAN TRANSFORM THE FOULEST SINNER INTO THE FINEST SAINT.

Pride is like cancer.

It destroys your inner man, your character.

Remember, when you die, your health, wealth, name and fame do not go with you.

Your education, friends, etc., do not go with you.

ONLY YOUR CHARACTER GOES WITH YOU WHEN YOU DIE.

Unless your proud spirit is gone, your character may never be changed.

You may have so many good things in your life.

But it is like a bottle of honey with an ounce of poison.

In fact, pride is worse than poison.

Poison can only destroy this physical body; but the poison of pride can destroy our inner man,

our character, which is eternal.

May the Lord grant us the grace that we will learn the humility of Christ and walk humbly with the Lord.

Series #4

LEARN HUMILITY, THE LIFE OF REST

Pride makes one unteachable.

Proud people cannot be corrected or disciplined.

If anyone tries to teach or correct a proud person,

he will react and shout: “I know every thing. No one needs to correct or teach me.”

One who is proud knows nothing (1 Tim 6:4) as he can be taught anything.

For the same reason, pride makes one independent (the spirit of independence).

“I don’t need to consult anyone.

I know I am always right, so there is no need for me to know someone else’s opinion.”

The meek and humble can be taught and corrected. “The meek will He teach His way” (Psa 25:9).

When Jesus came to this world, He taught many things.

He always spoke about the greatness of His Father.

The only time He spoke about Himself (His character) is stated in Matt 11:29 – “… learn of Me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

What a blessed truth!

Jesus is meek and lowly; that is the only thing that He asked us to learn of Him.

Why should we learn it?

So that we may find rest unto our souls.

Now the whole world is restless.

Why?

The world has rejected the good counsel of our Lord.

However, those few who have learned His meekness and lowliness are blessed people

and they have rest in their souls.

Praise be to God.

Dear reader, do you have real rest in your souls?

Do you want to have real rest?

Then learn Christlike humility.

“But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isa 68:20-21).

God is humble.

Therefore only the humble can know God and learn of Him.

In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3).

In other words, Christ is the greatest University in the world.

The qualification to enter this University is humility.

How sad, but very true, although it is the greatest University,

very few have entered this divine Institution to learn the most blessed things for now and eternity.

Dear reader, what about you?

Have you entered a life of perfect peace and rest?

Did you know that once you enter into this life of rest,

nothing in this world,

neither man or the devil can disturb your rest.

In some cemeteries there are some tombstones where you may see an inscription “REST IN PEACE”.

It may appear as if that poor man in the tomb did not have any rest or peace till his death;

fighting with his wife and children, in-laws, etc.

Now finally he is resting in peace!

No, no.

That is not the type of life God has called us to live.

The more you are humble the more you have rest and peace.

The more you are proud, the more you are restless and confused.

Today, humble yourself and enter the greatest University.

You will enjoy every moment in this unique University and your life will be transformed.

It wouldn’t be surprising if your life inspires others to live a humble life.

Series #5

SELF-PITY, DISSATISFACTION AND FINANCIAL WORRIES ARE THE BITTER FRUITS OF PRIDE

Self-pity is a clear indication of long-cherished pride.

King Saul was almost an embodiment of pride.

“There is none of you that is sorry for me” ( 1 Sam 22:8).

Such people always complain and murmur (people of self pity are often complainers and murmurers also)

saying, “nobody cares for me, nobody loves me, nobody understands, nobody accepts me”.

In other words, in their pride, they expect that everyone should care for them or love them.

(Who are you and what greatness have you attained that everyone should love you or care for you?).

The humble always will think of loving, helping and caring for others.

A life of pouring out ourselves for the service of others and for the glory of God,

is the most blessed and happiest life.

In short, the proud concentrate on their rights (what others had not done for them) and the humble on

their responsibilities (what they ought to do for others as children of God).

The only right the humble have is to give up their rights.

In other words, the proud are self-conscious and the humble are God-conscious.

Pride is the cause of greed and dissatisfaction.

“Nothing is good enough for me – I deserve more, and more and more.”

Even if God does everything in the best way and gives the best, still he will be dissatisfied and complaining.

The story is told of a woman who was always dissatisfied with her potato crops.

She complained to the Pastor about how part of the crops turned out to be rotten potatoes.

However, one year, the whole crop was very good and there was absolutely no rotten potatoes.

Then she being thoroughly dissatisfied, complained: “Now what shall I give to my pigs?”

The humble are always grateful and satisfied with what God has provided, whether little or much.

Godliness with contentment is great gain.

Humility helps both – to have godliness and contentment or satisfaction.

Most of the financial debts are the result of pride.

It is pride that says, “I need more and more comforts than what I can afford.

I deserve more luxuries than what God has provided for me”

(as if God is unfaithful and uncaring and not the faithful Provider).

If the love of money is the root of all evil, then pride is the seed of all evil;

as we know that the ROOT comes from the SEED.

The humble live simple.

The humble have no financial burden or worry.

Humility and faith are perfectly linked or connected.

See Matt 8:5-10 and Matt 15:22-28.

The Syrophenician woman and the Centurion were praised for their great faith,

as they both manifested great humility.

There are virtually millions of blessings in humility and many millions of evil in pride.

The purpose of life on earth is to know God and enjoy God.

Unless we learn humility we won’t know or enjoy Him.

May the dear Lord help us to learn Christlike humility.

Series #6

Envy, the Foul Offspring of Pride

Pride makes you envious.

“He is proud … whereof cometh envy (1 Tim 6:4). When others are honoured, you cannot rejoice,

but you get upset and angry with them – e.g. when the maiden of Israel sang,

“Saul killed thousands and David ten thousands,” Saul’s pride was disturbed.

Moved with envy, he wanted to destroy David.

That envy was the downfall of king Saul.

Envy is such a terrible sin because your feet can easily slip into the pit of hell –

“But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.

For I was envious at the foolish” (Psa 73:2-3).

It is told, one of the worst pains in the human body is when the bones are decaying or rotting.

This is what envy does in the human soul.

“A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but ENVY THE ROTTENNESS OF THE BONES” (Prov 14:30).

Can you rejoice when someone who is younger or junior to you in every way is exalted above you

and honoured more than you?

Normally, people get angry, agitated and restless in such situations as did king Saul.

If envy slips you into hell,

then rejoicing from the depths of your heart when others are honoured more than you,

will definitely carry you to heaven.

Although John the Baptist did not do any miracles like Moses, Elijah, etc, .

he became the greatest saint of the Old Testament.

How? His life and ministry were clothed and crowned with divine humility.

His joyful prayer was, “I must decrease, He (means, others who are younger and junior to me –

Jesus was younger and junior to him and John started the ministry well before Jesus and

also John baptized Jesus) must increase.” He preached,

“There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down

and unloose” (Mark 1:7).

Envy kills – because of envy, the Jews killed Jesus.

YOUR ENVY STILL KILLS JESUS.

The cure for envy is Christlike humility.

Have you ever prayed like John the Baptist, “Lord, I want to decrease,” – in other words,

“Lord, please make me smaller and smaller every day till I become invisible and disappear.”

THIS IS CHRISTLIKE HUMILITY, OR CHRISTLIKE SPIRIT.

What is the spirit of Lucifer?

“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will be like the most High” (Isa 14: 13-14).

Almost the whole world is in the spirit of Lucifer – I must become greater, richer; have more power,

position, authority, fame, name, etc.

What is the final state of such people? “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,

to the sides of the pit” (Isa 14:15).

Humble thyself and the Lord will draw near thee,

Humble thyself and His presence will cheer thee,

He will not walk with the proud or the scornful,

Humble thyself to walk with God.

Series #7

The Proud Justify Themselves and are Impatient

Pride will not allow you to admit your own mistakes.

However, it will always find a lame excuse or

it will lay the blame upon someone else in order to justify yourself.

Why?

Unlike many other sins, pride makes you BLIND – you cannot see your own faults,

but will find many in others.

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, having the “pride of life”, acted in this way (Gen 4:11-13).

Christ’s humility is exemplary.

Pilate, the Sadducees and Pharisees laid so many accusations against Him, but He kept silent.

While our Lord was hanging on the Cross, many passers-by mocked and spoke insulting words,

but He kept silent.

Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of immorality, but Joseph kept silent.

In the natural, man will be hasty to defend himself and blame others.

Think for a moment; if Joseph had defended himself and accused Mrs. Potiphar,

who on earth would have believed him?

But as Joseph kept his mouth shut, when the right time came,

God raised him above them all and vindicated him.

How true the Word of God is: “He sitteth alone and keepeth silence … he putteth his mouth in the dust;

if so be there may be hope” (Lam 3:29).

What does this verse teach?

If you open your mouth to defend and justify yourself,

YOU HAVE NO HOPE and vice versa!

Joseph had the hope of a bright future because he kept silent;

Jesus had the hope of a blessed resurrection after He kept silent.

Dear child of God, are you being falsely accused and misunderstood?

Unless the Lord permits, don’t open your mouth to justify yourself.

When the right time comes God will justify you.

When God defends and justifies you, all the mouths against you will be shut.

Not realizing how patient God has been with you,

pride will make you impatient with the mistakes of others.

It is a true saying, “The more you are perfect, the more you bear the imperfections of others

and the more you are imperfect, the more you are impatient with others mistakes”.

The proud in spirit can never be patient in spirit.

Also, the patient in spirit will have a better end:

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof:

and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Eccl 7:8).

“You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord” (James 5:11).

In other words, as Job was patient, his end was just like the end of the Lord.

Therefore, the only way you can get the spirit of patience is by driving out the spirit of pride.

The more you are humble, the more you are patient.

Only such people can patiently wait for the coming of the Lord.

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7).

As the coming of the Lord draws near, let us humble ourselves and wait patiently to meet the Lord.

Series #8

DISCOURAGEMENT AND DEPRESSION ARE CAUSED BY PRIDE

Very often discouragement and depression are the results of pride (see 1 Kings chapter 19).

Elijah thought he was better than his fathers (verse 4).

Once he realized that he was wrong,

his pride was crushed and he was thoroughly discouraged,

to the extent that he wanted to die.

Likewise, when Jonah’s pride was hurt, he too wanted to die.

When you are discouraged, don’t be like Elijah and pray, “Lord, take me, I want to die.”

In fact that is the worst time to die.

It is better to pray, “Lord, please help me first to get rid of my pride.”

Elijah prayed to die, that was about three thousand years ago, and still his prayer is not answered.

Now he has to come during the tribulation period and die.

This is a good lesson for all those who pray to die.

If he had not prayed that prayer, perhaps after a few years he could have died, ending all of his problems.

Sometimes people through discouragement commit suicide.

But many people do not realize that the root of most discouragements is pride.

For example, Ahitophel was a very wise counselor; his counsels were greatly respected by the kings.

However, one day the king rejected his counsel and accepted someone else’s counsel.

His pride was deeply hurt – obviously he sank into deep depression and discouragement and as a result,

he committed suicide (2 Sam 17:23).

On the other hand, one of David’s outstanding qualities was his humility and gentleness.

There was a time, in Ziklag he lost everything: his wives, children, house, etc.

On top of that, his own followers wanted to stone him – ordinarily any man would be deeply discouraged

in such situations. However, we read “David encouraged himself in the Lord.”

Dear friend, you may have health, wealth, name, fame and everything that the world could offer.

But if you do not have real Christlike humility, one day, all these will become a SNARE for you.

You may sink into deep depression and discouragement,

and you will not find any comfort or solace unless you seek the humility of Christ.

A HUMBLE PERSON WILL NEVER GET DISCOURAGED OR DEPRESSED.

On the other hand, if you are truly humble, when you face life’s deepest problems,

you will be an encouragement for others who have similar problems, for the glory of God.

For example, St. Paul says, “I am less than the least of all saints”

“Serving the Lord with all humility of mind” (Eph 3:8; Acts 20:19).

As he was sailing as a prisoner to Rome a terrible tempest struck against the ship and for fourteen days

none of those in the ship ate, or perhaps slept.

Finally, they lost all hope of survival.

Although Paul was a prisoner and was in chains, he not only found encouragement in the Lord,

but also encouraged others by saying “Now I exhort you to be of good cheer…” (Acts 27:22).

These were not simply empty words of Paul;

the passage shows that this dear man of God through his encouraging words and deeds,

rescued all the passengers in the ship, for the glory of God.

If you are a proud man, one day calamity may suddenly strike you and all your hope in man, materials,

mansions and money will flee from you.

You will be left alone to face the situation.

Where will you go?

Who will help you?

What will you do?

“We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves … and the hail shall sweep away

the refuge of lies” (Isa 28:15, 17). According to this verse, many are trusting in money, friends, etc.

All these are false refuges or refuges of lies which shall be swept away by the hail; hail means sudden trials.

May the dear Lord grant the grace that every fibre of our being will cry out for Christlike humility

Series #9

FEAR, THE PRODUCT OF PRIDE

Many people are ignorant of the fact that human fear is connected with pride.

Proud Saul was afraid of David. “Saul was yet the more afraid of David.”

Remember, David was only a shepherd boy, playing the harp to help Saul.

Saul was the king of Israel wielding a javelin to kill David.

Saul tried a number of times to kill David, but David escaped.

Quite naturally, David should have been afraid of Saul, instead of Saul fearing David.

God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

God is the Essence and Author of all good things.

When God resists the proud, he loses all the goodness and blessings of God.

What is fear?

Fear is the anticipation of losing something.

For example, the fear of death is the anticipation of losing life.

The fear of the future is the anticipation of losing something good in the future.

As God resists the proud and withdraws from him all the lasting goodness of the Lord,

the proud man is bound to be in the dungeon of fear for the rest of his life.

It is also possible, if the proud man does not repent and turn to the Lord by humbling himself,

he may be delivered to the hands of the devil for the worst types of torment:

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height,

and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs,

and his heart is lifted up in his height;

I HAVE THEREFORE DELIVERED HIM INTO THE HAND OF THE MIGHTY ONE OF THE HEATHEN;

he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness (Ezek 31:10-11).

“The mighty one of the heathen” is the devil.

Similarly, God gives grace to the humble.

All the goodness of God can be called the grace of God.

So the humble is compassed and crowned with all the goodness of God;

he has no reason to fear. In Psalm 34:4-6 we read that as the poor man (humble man) cried,

the Lord heard him and delivered him from ALL his troubles and ALL his fears.

St. Paul, who stated that he was “less than the least of all saints”,

when he was arrested and about to be executed in the prison (dungeon) of the Emperor Nero,

wrote to the believers at Philippi with a triumphant voice saying,

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord” (Phil 3:1).

Can we trace any fear in that humble saint in such a horrifying situation?

The lesson is very clear: if we have to be free from all fears, even on the verge of death, learn true humility.

At times, people feel condemned because of pride.

“… lest being lifted up with pride he [will] fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim 3:6).

Sometimes, condemnation can devastate even saintly people.

People can come to a state that they will condemn themselves by saying,

“I have no hope, God has forsaken me; I have committed terrible sins that God will never forgive;

I am on the way to hell”, etc.

Condemnation is a tormenting spirit.

A humble saint will never be attacked by this condemning spirit.

Sometimes, people can commit suicide when urged by this spirit.

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility” (Prov 18:12).

“Be clothed with humility … Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God” (1 Pet 5:5-6).

Series #10

Pride of Lucifer

There are four orders of angels – thrones, dominions, principalities and powers (Col 1:16).

They also can be called, Cherubims, Seraphims, archangels and angels.

Out of all these, some have fallen because of pride.

There are mainly five groups of fallen angels mentioned in the Word of God.

Although those fallen angels fell due to pride, all of them had pride in different aspects.

This is a real warning for us to be careful, so that such pride will not enter us to destroy us.

All these angels fell before the creation of man.

There are a large number of fallen angels.

They are spirits; e.g. spirit of slumber, spirit of fornication, etc.

Behind every sin there is an evil spirit.

These evil spirits want need to enter a human body so that their destructive work can be utilized.

However, during the second half of the tribulation period, demons will rule openly on this earth (Rev 12:9).

Unless we give room, these fallen spirits can not attack us.

The maniac man of Gadara who lived in the tombs, was naked, and he had a legion of demons (Mark 5:9).

One legion is 6000 – i.e., he had 6000 demons in him.

Every time a sin is committed (fornication, murder, etc.) a demon enters the person with more torment.

The 6000 demons tormented the mad man of Gadara:

“This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain.

For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet.

No one was strong enough to subdue him.

Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones” (Mark 5:3-5 NIV).

What a pathetic and tormenting state he was in – the demons tormented him day and night,

his body might have been bleeding and cut in many places.

Thank God, Jesus came to him and delivered him from all those demons.

Let us now see these five groups of fallen angels and the type of pride that caused their fall:

1. LUCIFER: Isa. 14:13-15 “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne

above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will be like the most High.” So the pride of Lucifer was self-exalting or trying to grab a higher position

and honour.

Lucifer was already a great angel, perhaps an archangel, and perhaps he had a throne.

He was called the son of the morning; Jesus is called the Morning Star – this shows,

the angel Lucifer before his fall was a bright shining angel with great power.

He was not satisfied with all the power and glory God had bestowed upon him,

he wanted to have more power, more position, more honour, etc.

This spirit is working not only in the political and secular world,

it is very much rampant in the spiritual or religious world.

Fighting for greater power, leadership, position, honour, etc.

This spirit of Lucifer incites most of the fighting in the world.

Although it is a shocking statement but very true, most of the leaders whether in the secular or political or

religious world, who fought and came to a higher position are POSSESSED WITH THE SPIRIT OF

LUCIFER!

As Lucifer descended into the pit of hell, such people may have a terrible end, unless they repent.

The Spirit of humility is praying from the depths of the heart,

“He must increase (i.e., others should become better, greater and more honourable),

but I must decrease (i.e., I must be completely hidden in Christ)” (John 3:30).

Dear friend, what spirit are you possessing, the Spirit of Christ or the spirit of Lucifer?

“And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold,

I will bring adversity on all flesh” (Jer 45:5 NKJV) .

May the Lord open our spiritual eyes, that instead of seeking power and position in this world,

we will seek the eternal power and glory by humbling ourselves

Series #11

THE PRIDE OF THE ANOINTED CHERUB

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:

thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;

thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence,

and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God:

and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:

I will cast thee to the ground …” ( Ezek 28:13-17).

From the above Scriptural description of the Anointed Cherub,

perhaps he might have been a far greater angel in power and glory than Lucifer.

The Anointed Cherub was wiser than Daniel (Ezek 28:3).

Lucifer wanted to go to the holy hill of God,

however, the Anointed Cherub was already there.

All the nine precious stones that covered the body of this angel were on the breast plate of the high priest.

He was perfect in beauty, wisdom and brightness and walked “in the midst of the stones of fire.”

What an unimaginable beauty and splendor!

What was his pride?

He was proud about his own greatness or he was proud about the beauty, wisdom, etc.,

God gave him.

In other words, pride about God given gifts, talents, abilities, revelations, or pride about usefulness.

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth” (v.14).

Perhaps he was one of the Cherubs that covered the mercy seat.

If so, he could have been one of the greatest and most useful angels.

The Anointed Cherub had a special anointing for his ministry given by God.

Not only did very precious stones cover his body, but musical organs were fitted into his body (v.14).

So when he walked melodious music might have flowed out of him and his body might have been shining

with all the brilliance a man can ever imagine!

Perhaps he might have been the leader of the heavenly orchestra.

But he was lifted up with pride about his own greatness and gifts,

without realizing all these were given by God.

Like Lucifer, this angel was brought down to the pit of hell (Ezek 28:8).

Let this be a warning for all of us – by the mercy of God, some of us may be useful in many ways,

shining with various gifts and talents.

We are like the charcoal on fire.

Once the fire is gone, the only thing that remains is the black charcoal and whoever touches

it will become dirty.

When the Anointed Cherub fell, his music ministry also fell.

Some think that the modern rock music, pop music, heavy metal, etc., are from the pit of hell,

influenced by the fallen Anointed Cherub.

Most of the rock musicians, when they are under drugs (most of them are under drugs),

get a “fallen anointing” and in that “anointing” they get lyrics and music which enchant millions.

Out of them, the most subtle ones are the so called “Christian rock musicians.”

There is nothing called Christian rock, it is (the rhythm) from the pit of hell.

Let us as Christians be on the alert, about the audio tapes and CD’s that can defile our homes.

The more we are gifted, the more we are useful, the more we are indebted to God.

If we have anything, and if we are anything, it is all the grace of God.

Let us be more thankful and humble before the Lord.

Series #12

3. FOUR ANGELS BOUND BY THE RIVER EUPHRATES:

“The sixth angel who had the trumpet [said] ‘Release the four angels who are bound at

the great river Euphrates’.

So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year,

were released to kill a third of mankind (Rev 9:14-15 NKJV).

As soon as these four fallen angels are released, they will go and kill one third of the world’s population.

If the present population is about 6 billion people,

then 2 billion people would be killed by these four fallen angels.

Never in history has something like this happened, not in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, not even by Adolf Hitler.

It is clear, these fallen angels are murderous spirits.

As we already studied (please see series 2 article) an angry spirit is a murderous spirit

and anger and pride go together.

In other words THESE FOUR FALLEN ANGELS SIGNIFY, PRIDE MANIFESTED THROUGH ANGER.

The greatest deception about this matter is that THOSE WHO HAVE THE WORST TYPE OF ANGER

THINK THAT THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH ANGER!

How could this happen?

What is the worst type of anger?

The worst type of anger is hidden anger; when you keep anger inside against a person,

but smile at him on the outside!

The Bible says, that which is seen is temporal,

but that which is not seen is eternal—your unseen anger can be eternal.

Even in hell fire you may grind your teeth and be angry.

In the Bible there is an example for this type of anger.

Levi and Simeon had the worst type of anger.

When they heard that their sister Dinah was defiled by the prince of Shechem,

they hid their anger and pretended that they wanted to arrange marriages between their children and

the children of the land of Shechem.

The prince and the people of the land were very happy.

However, when the opportunity came, both Simeon and Levi took swords and

KILLED ALL THE MALES OF THE LAND.

Their anger was so bad that their own father Jacob on his deathbed cursed their anger:

“Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

O my soul, come not thou into their secret;

unto their assembly, mine honour,

be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man,

and in their self-will they dug down a wall.

CURSED BE THEIR ANGER, FOR IT WAS FIERCE; AND THEIR WRATH, FOR IT WAS CRUEL

I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel (Gen 49:5-7).

Jacob blessed all his children, however, for Simeon and Levi he did not give them a single blessing,

but only a curse.

Dear friend, perhaps you may have the worst type of anger—you may be very clever in hiding your anger,

irritation, hatred, bitterness, etc.

On the outside you may appear to be friendly, but inside you are filled with anger—this is the worst type of

anger and hypocrisy.

Repent with a broken and a contrite heart,

lest you receive a curse from your (Heavenly) father.

A truly humble person will be free from anger, irritation, hatred, bitterness, resentment, etc.

All these are the foul offsprings of pride.

May the dear Lord teach us Christlike humility every day so that we can be free from the snare of pride.

Series #13

THE PRIDE OF INDEPENDENCE OR SELF-WILL

4. THE ANGELS BOUND IN EVERLASTING CHAINS OF DARKNESS:

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,

he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6).

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell,

and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (2 Pet 2:4).

These angels did not keep the place where God placed them but became

“wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 13).

What was their sin?

The pride of independence or self-will.

This judgment which fell on these angels is a warning for all of us,

particularly those who are in the ministry, who run around or fly around as they like.

It is true, for sometime their ministry may appear useful, but their end will be very sad.

These angels were shining like stars, but they were wandering out of the will of God.

They are bound in everlasting chains of darkness.

Although we may do good things like preach the gospel, witness, feed the poor, etc,

it may not be God’s will but our own plan and will.

Initially everything may seem good as Jonah’s running away to Joppa,

but later on, storms struck the ship and he was in deep trouble.

When we are out of the will of God, immediately we may not find any problem,

but definitely a storm will strike against our life and we may not be able to survive.

We may endanger the lives of others with us, as those who were in the ship with Jonah.

In the judgement of these fallen angels, we are told that they are bound in chains of darkness and

reserved in blackness of darkness.

This darkness is not ordinary darkness.

IT IS A TORMENTING DARKNESS, A DARKNESS THAT BRINGS UNBEARABLE PAIN.

“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast;

and his kingdom was full of darkness;

and they gnawed their tongues for pain” (Rev 16:10).

Here the darkness was so painful that they gnawed their tongues in pain.

Perhaps it can be such darkness that can be felt.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven,

that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt,

EVEN DARKNESS WHICH MAY BE FELT” (Exo 10:21).

Eventually, the pride of independence or ministering according to our self-will,

will bring BLACKNESS OF DARKNESS into our lives.

In the word of God there is no proof of any independent ministry.

Jesus never sent anyone alone for any ministry – He sent them two by two.

Even to fetch the donkey He sent two disciples (Mark 11:1).

Jesus always did the Father’s will and left an example for us to follow.

Dear friend, if you are a servant of God, do you work in the place where the Elders have placed you

or do you wander around as you like?

Have you ever asked for a transfer from the place where GOD KEPT YOU?

Repent, or else you may be a wandering star awaiting everlasting chains of darkness—not ‘chain’

but ‘chains’—yes, your heart and soul can also be bound by darkness.

Perhaps you may be a child of God doing your own will; you may have the pride of independence

and you may never feel like consulting others (whom you ought to consult).

Give up the pride of independence; don’t be a wandering star, but go where God and the Elders lead you.

THE WILL OF GOD WILL NEVER TAKE YOU WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD CANNOT KEEP YOU.

Series #14

SUBTLE OR HIDDEN PRIDE, THE WORST TYPE OF PRIDE

5. SATAN: Satan is the chief of all the demons.

How do we know that?

Jesus confirms that Beelzebub or Satan is the chief of all the demons (Luke 11:15 & 18).

Satan is the embodiment of all evil.

What is his pride?

His pride is the worst one—subtle pride or hidden pride.

All his works are most subtle.

What is his major task?

In a subtle way he CORRUPTS THE MINDS:

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety,

so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor 11:3).

Corrupting the minds is a subtle, concealed or hidden work.

Why is the corrupting of the mind a most subtle work of the devil?

In one sense, the mind is the capital of our spirit, soul and body.

Once the capital of a country is conquered,

all the other places can be easily won.

Once our mind is corrupted or conquered, we are already in the pocket of the devil,

even though we go to church, pray and read the Bible.

When our mind is corrupted we are corrupted, when our mind is fallen, we are fallen.

The devil is so cunning, he hides the seriousness of this sin—therefore he is rightly called “the deceiver.”

As the time is very, very short, the devil is determined to corrupt the minds of God’s people.

Most of the programs on television, video, Internet, etc., are geared to defile the mind.

The devil knows the true strength of a spiritual man is the strength of the mind.

Once a person’s mind is corrupted, regardless of their great anointing and talents, their mind is weak.

Before the fall of man, first his mind fell; before the fall of a kingdom, first the capital city must fall.

This is the reason, while Jesus was mentioning a list of various sins,

He put EVIL THOUGHTS first: “For from within, out of the heart of men,

proceed EVIL THOUGHTS, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,

lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22).

Therefore the true saint is the one who has conquered his thoughts, as St. Paul did:

” (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,

and BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST (2 Cor 10:4-5).

“His (devil’s) tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,

and did cast them to the earth” (Rev 12:4).

Satan cast down one third of the stars (shining saints who live in heavenly places).

“Cast them to the earth” means to make them earthly minded;

either the devil will fill the mind with evil thoughts, or else he will bring worries of money, materials,

and earthly things.

Even some of the saintliest people will be deceived by worrying about building the church hall,

getting money for the ministry, etc.

Many children of God have yet to discover that their calling is not to worry about material things,

but heavenly things.

How sad, Satan, the deceiver has already corrupted the minds of most of Christians by filling them

with evil thoughts or with an earthly (worrying) mind.

Instead of being warriors for Christ, they have become “worriers.”

“Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility” (Col 2:20 NKJV).

If we are not careful we can be trapped into “false humility” which is the worst type of pride.

If a very proud man thinks that he is very humble,

he has absolutely no hope of being delivered from pride.

It is possible that we can appear to be very humble and that many may appreciate and praise our humility.

As a result, the devil may make us to believe this great lie because he is a liar and the father of lies.

It may be shocking but true, that someone who appears to be the humblest person on earth may be

the one who has the worst type of pride! May the Lord help us.

Let us give our mind to Christ and be clothed with TRUE HUMILITY.

Series #15

KILL THE “FAMOUS KINGS” TO RECEIVE THE ENDURING MERCY OF GOD FOR EVER!

Since we have studied about the five aspects of pride of the fallen angels,

let us now study the five steps of the humility of Christ:

“But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant,

and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man,

He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil.2:7-8).

1. MADE HIMSELF OF NO REPUTATION: It is human nature to crave for name,

fame, honour, popularity, etc. However, divine nature is to give up name, fame, etc.

“Made Himself of no reputation,” in the Amplified version is:

“stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity].” Man has yet to learn this lesson:

THOSE WHO TRY TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES, FINALLY GET A BAD NAME!

This truth is clearly portrayed in the story of the tower of Babel.

“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven;

and LET US MAKE US A NAME (Gen 11:4).

Finally what a bad name they got; and even after many thousands of years,

their bad name is still well-published.

Those who seek a great name have still not learned this lesson.

How true is the saying, “One thing we have not learned from history, is history.”

Although we as children of God know about so many evil spirits or unclean spirits,

most of God’s people have yet to know about a group of

UNCLEAN SPIRITS, WHOSE WORK IS TO MAKE PEOPLE WELL KNOWN OR POPULAR!

Let us go to the Word of God: “And UNCLEAN SPIRITS, when they saw him,

fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

And he straitly charged them that THEY SHOULD NOT MAKE HIM KNOWN (Mark 3:11-12).

Dear child of God/servant of God, do you know that IF YOU ARE SEEKING NAME,

FAME, POPULARITY OR REPUTATION IN THIS WORLD,

YOU ARE ALREADY POSSESSED BY UNCLEAN SPIRITS?

Before it is too late, repent and give up your desire to become famous or popular.

Yes, television (ministry?), radio ministry, etc, may make you popular, but do you know the price

you have to pay?

The price is to be bound by unclean spirits.

If Moses had been alive today, no TV or radio station would invite him to speak—a stammering man

will not fit in there.

If St. Paul had been alive today, which television show would invite him to preach?

They will surely reject him and repeat,

“his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible” (2 Cor 10:10).

“To Him which … slew famous kings, for His mercy endureth for ever” (Psa 136:18).

Here the “kings” signify “ruling spirits” or the spirits dominating our hearts to make us famous.

When we kill this ruling spirit, God’s enduring mercy will be upon us for ever. Hallelujah!

“For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God,

who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him” (Heb 7:1).

Like Abraham, if we kill all these kings (i.e. ruling desires to become great, famous, etc.),

the Holy Spirit (Melchisedec) will come and visit us and bless us.

A man may be willing to give up every thing, except his (good) name.

Jesus gave up all including His name.

They called Him, Beelzebub, the chief of the demons.

As He gave up His name, He finally got a name far above all names.

God may allow our name to be spoiled, be of good cheer, if we overcome this trial,

God will give us a new name. “To him that overcometh will I give … a new name” (Rev 2:17).

Let us overcome the temptation to become famous and let us desire to be hidden saints,

dwelling in the secret place of the Most High.

In fact this is the first step of true humility.

How can we go into further steps of humility,

unless we learn the first one, the craving to become reputable.

A saint once told, “Reputation is what people think about us, but character is what God sees in our heart.”

As our Lord did, let us make ourselves of no reputation.

Series #16

2. TOOK UPON HIM THE FORM OF A SERVANT: (or took upon the form of a bond-servant or slave);

a normal servant has some rights; the right to finish his job at a particular time; the right to get wage, etc.

However, a bond-servant has absolutely no rights.

No wages, no fixed time of work and they have no right to complain or murmur.

He has nothing as his own; all is given by the master and the master has the right to take it away

from him at any time, without giving any reason.

A slave always serves others and he never has a thought of others serving him.

It is the work of a slave to wash the master’s feet.

Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, most of them being fishermen.

Imagine, the God of the whole universe leaving all the glory of heaven,

coming down to earth to become a slave or a bond-servant—what humility!

A slave has no thought or desire for getting any promotion.

If we want to have Christlike humility, we must be willing to have the spirit of a bond-servant.

If we think or seek for earthly greatness or promotion, we become brambles or thorns.

There is an interesting and enlightening story in the Bible to show how seeking earthly greatness

can make us like useless thorns: “The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them;

and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them,

Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man,

and go to be promoted over the trees?

[if we seek earthly promotion or honour, we may lose our fatness or usefulness].

And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit,

and go to be promoted over the trees?

[if we seek earthly promotion, we may lose our sweetness and good fruit – the fruit of the Spirit].

Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.

And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man,

and go to be promoted over the trees?

[if we seek earthly promotion, we may lose pleasing God and encouraging or cheering man].

Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you,

then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble,

and devour the cedars of Lebanon” [ if we seek earthly honour, we are just brambles or thorns].

Thorns have no shadow although they boast as if they are full of shadow and inviting others to

“put trust in [its] shadow” (Judges 9:8-15). They have no fruits, flowers or leaves either.

Christlike humility is “taking the form of a servant”—always willing to be a servant (of servants) to others.

Holy angels are called “ministering spirits” or servants to others (Heb 1:14).

But fallen angels demand worship (even the devil asked Jesus to worship him) and honour.

Dear child of God, are you a “holy angel” (always seeking to serve others) or a fallen angel

(always expecting or demanding honour and glory and service from others)?

Are you a fruit tree or a bramble?

May God help us to be slaves for Christ, that we may always have a spirit of service.

Series #17

HUMBLING OURSELVES TO DUST

3. Was made in the likeness of men. Almighty God limited Himself to a creature;

limited Himself to a woman’s womb, obedient and submissive as a child to earthly parents.

From the age of 12 (the last time we read anything about Jesus in the Bible) to the age of 30

(when he started his earthly ministry) we do not hear about Him at all.

He experienced hunger, thirst, pain, weariness, mocking and a most cruel death.

“Took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men”—

first He became a servant then a man, i.e., unless we become servants,

we cannot be a man in the true sense.

Man was made out of dust.

Dust is something very insignificant, very small and is of no value at all.

So man’s beginning is dust and his end is dust.

Though we may rule as kings on this earth, God still remembers that we are dust (Psa 103:14).

But the question is, do we remember that we are dust and will go back to dust?

God never forgets ‘dust’ but remembers ‘dust.’

If any time we think that God has forgotten us, the true fact could be that we are no more ‘dust’,

but we imagine ourselves as if we are ‘diamonds’.

God favours ‘dust’ and the final destination of ‘dust’ is Zion – see Psa 102:13-14 – isn’t it amazing?

“He raiseth the poor out of the dust” (Psa 113:7). “He raiseth” means, He is continuously raising.

If our life has to be changed, we need a revelation of ‘dust’—Jesus became a man or dust for us—

so small and insignificant.

When we forget that we are dust, we get into many problems and may go out of the will of God.

“I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.

Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).

True repentance is possible when we humble ourselves to dust and that will open our eyes to see Jesus

with all glory and beauty.

Like Job, when we have a clear vision of our God,

even if we are the saintliest person in the world,

we will realize that we need to repent in “dust and ashes.”

When we learn to humble ourselves as dust, we will always have a broken and contrite spirit,

a spiritual experience through which we are always accepted by the Lord (Psa 51:17).

If our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords left all the glory in heaven and

came down to become a man or ‘dust’ to redeem us, how much more we must humble ourselves as dust.

Series #18

WHAT IS TRUE OBEDIENCE?

4. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death:

There is a world of difference between the obedience of Christ and our obedience to Christ.

By our obedience to God we receive glory, honour, blessings, healings, etc.

Jesus by His obedience left all His glory and honour and finally lost His good name as He gave His life

on the Cross.

Therefore in one sense, even our best obedience with the purest motive has selfishness in it.

We know our obedience is going to result in great blessings and glory.

“Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered” (Heb 5:8).

This verse may appear as if Jesus learned obedience by suffering after coming to the earth.

In heaven our Lord definitely obeyed the Father,

but IN HEAVEN HE DID NOT HAVE ANY SUFFERING IN OBEDIENCE.

For example, the Father told the Son, “Son, sit on the throne, reign over all angels and principalities,

receive worship and adoration from all the holy angel, etc.”

Obedience to these did not give any suffering to our Lord, it only added to His glory and honour.

However, His obedience to the Father to come to the earth and die for sinful humanity brought so much

suffering and shame to our Saviour.

Please note the phrase, “obedient UNTO death”, not “obedient UNTIL death”.

A servant or slave may obey his master UNTIL death, but inside he may be murmuring,

complaining and wishing to get out of the master’s “iron fists”.

However, the servant has to obey if he has to get his material needs.

We must obey UNTO death.

For example, when we willingly and joyfully obey our Master,

IT BRINGS DEATH TO OUR OLD MAN OR OLD NATURE.

We may obey until death with rebellion and unhappiness inside.

Although we may obey physically our mind may resist and get irritated.

We may obey without delighting in the will of God;

that will never change our character or bring death to our old nature.

“For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward” (1 Cor 9:17).

When we do the will of God willingly, our self-will and pride are given a death blow;

then we have a reward, that reward can be Christ (to win Christ); that reward can be Zion,

the most beautiful place in eternity and that reward can be Christlike humility.

What is the main difference between Christ’s trials and our trials?

Most of our trials are to make us humble— “And thou shalt remember ALL THE WAY which the LORD

thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, TO HUMBLE THEE…” (Deu 8:2).

But the trials of Christ were to prove or show us His beautiful character of humility.

However, thank God, we too can come to the state of Christlike humility, i.e.,

we can also come to a state by the grace of God that our trials will prove or show Christlike humility.

The story is told of William Carey, the pioneer missionary of England to North India, over 200 years ago.

He established the first Christian University in India, the Zerambur University,

translated the Bible into local language, etc.

The people of India were so much taken up with his exemplary missionary efforts,

they arranged a dinner in honour of Mr. Carey.

Some other British gentlemen also were invited.

On the dinner table, seeing the way Mr. Carey was being honoured,

another English gentleman became very jealous and whispered to an Indian gentleman across

the dining table, “I knew William Carey in England, he was only a SHOE MAKER!”

William Carey having overheard the comment, gently told,

“Excuse me sir, I was not a SHOE MAKER, BUT ONLY A COBBLER!”

This is Christlike humility.

When humiliated or insulted, if we react wrongly,

we have failed in the school of humility with a zero mark!

When we are being humiliated, if we can take it in the good spirit and be willing to humble all the more,

without getting offended with any one,

we will come out of every trial in flying colors and will also fly away to glory.

Series #19

HUMILITY OF CHRIST AT HIS DEATH

5. EVEN THE DEATH ON THE CROSS: it was the worst type of humiliating death any human being

can ever go through. He died as if he was the worst criminal on earth.

THE GREATEST WORK THE ALMIGHTY GOD CAN DO IN A HUMAN BEING IS TO IMPART

CHRISTLIKE HUMILITY.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,

Who loved me, and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20).

Crucifixion is utter humiliation. “I am crucified with Christ”, means, I am humiliated with Christ.

Many people love Jesus, but are enemies of the cross.

“For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,

that they are the ENEMIES OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST: whose end is destruction whose God is their belly,

and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Phil 3:18-19).

Do you love to be humiliated for Christ?

Without crucifixion there is no resurrection.

Crucifixion is rejection.

All His disciples rejected and departed from Him while he hung on the Cross.

While on the cross it appeared that he had absolutely no friends.

Rejection is a part of humiliation.

The rejected stone became the corner stone.

May God bless you.

LATE PASTOR T.U. THOMAS (entered Glory Dec 2006)