The Anatomy of Arrogance

We have been entrusted with the sacred duty of handling the word of God with truth, with humility and trembling reverence. We never reshaped this to fit human comfort at the cost of eternal souls. In all of Christ, in obedience to his great commission, we're divinely called to cultivate wholehearted followers of Jesus who abandon these divided loyalties and lead others to follow him with their whole lives, making no concessions to worldly ways that dull devotion and foster lukewarm discipleship. This is our calling. [00:35:48] (45 seconds)  #WholeheartedDiscipleship

God's obviously blessed what I'm doing, or look at the results or the numbers of my church or how this ministry is thriving. That's all the validation that I need. Or I've said this one, and I've heard people say this one, and I cringe when I hear it today. I can't point to any scripture that backs this up, but I just feel peace about it. Or this is my truth, or I follow what's authentic to me. Or if we again, if we wanna be bold and and dare say something arrogant and prideful, I don't need doctrine. I just follow my heart. I've taught up here before, the heart's deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? [00:14:34] (57 seconds)  #TruthOverFeelings

It's through our willful rejection of God's authority by our arrogance that we be quickly led down a path of our own understanding, and it leads us away from the fear of the Lord. It's down a path where we start to give ourselves permissions to say things like, I'm not worried about the spiritual consequences of my conduct. Or people who warn about that type of stuff, they're just legalistic. Or I'm not going to let some outdated theology limit me. That warning doesn't apply to someone at my level? Or if we're bold enough to say this, I'm strong enough to handle this on my own. [00:10:02] (50 seconds)  #PrideLeadsUsAstray

Peter's doing us a service here by this warning. Because if a pastor is only filling us with the good news of the gospel and all of the the the blessings and all of the the positive sides of it without the warning. The only thing that is really happening is that we're filling you and fattening you up only to be turned over to the wolves for slaughter. [00:18:30] (32 seconds)  #ShepherdsMustWarn

It's through our prideful arrogance that we begin to take the place of God as the final authority, and we begin to rely on our experience and our feelings. Second Peter two twelve says this, But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about the matters of which they're ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction. We can be puffed up by our experience and our feelings. [00:10:52] (33 seconds)  #ExperienceIsNotAuthority

But these cards that you write down, these people of your neighbors, and you want to invite them to church, and they come to church, let's say, and you say, hey, it's so good to see you here. I am glad you came. Praise God. And then you don't pour into making that a relationship, that's not where it ends. It's not just with inviting to the church. I mean, it's about building the relationship. It's about putting the time. How are they or us supposed to hear some biblical direction, correction, protection or affection without some connection. [00:21:29] (46 seconds)  #InviteAndInvest

So when we're looking at what faithful shepherding should produce, we can now clearly see the destruction that occurs when leadership becomes self serving instead of protective. It's a path that promises much, but destroys more. Two Peter, let's go right back to the scripture here, verses 15 through 16 in chapter two. Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression by a speechless donkey that spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. [00:25:44] (43 seconds)  #ProtectiveLeadership

And at the end of the day, this is Jesus plus something, As if Jesus is not enough. The last one is well, the last one I'm going to expound on is universalism gospel. Universalism means that all sincere paths lead to God. That is not specifically the name of Jesus. And Jesus says in John fourteen:six, And Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [00:31:46] (43 seconds)  #JesusOnlyWay