(Billy Wilson:)  Recently in prayer after observing all of the difficulties going on in our world I asked the question, “Where is this coming from? What is the root cause of all of the symptoms of sin we see in the 21st century?” I’m Billy Wilson and Today on World Impact we’re going to be looking at some root causes. In fact we’re doing a series on the Seven Deadly Sins. My prayer, research and counsel led me back to this old principle in the Christian church of seven capital or deadly sins. Out of these seven sins, in many ways, all of the other sins among humankind take place. Today we’re going after in many ways the mother of them all and that is pride. Pride took place in heaven first and then in human hearts on earth. It continues to be one of the places all of us struggle the most. You know when you go into a field and you look at a tree you can’t see the root system. It’s hiding a bit. Well today I believe just as John the Baptist said, “The ax is laid to the root of the tree,” God wants to dig down to the very root of what’s going on in your heart and in my heart. Pride tends to hide under the surface, but today we’re going to dig it up so God’s Word can deal with it in our lives. Now as we minister on this program, if God speaks to you, I want you to call me at 1-800-95-SHARE or go to our website, WorldImpact.tv. There you can go to our prayer wall. You can leave your prayer request. That’s WorldImpact.tv or 1-800-95-SHARE. Stay with me now. We’re going to talk about seven deadly sins, the root causes of what’s going on in our society and specifically today we’re going to talk about pride.

(Announcer:)  The seven deadly sins have had a powerful role in shaping history and society but they aren’t actually found as a list in the Holy Bible. They began as a catalog of worldly evils compiled from early Christian sources by a scholar named Evagrius Ponticus. Convicted by his own list, Evagrius left sinful Constantinople to become a monk in Egypt around 375 A.D. There he distilled his catalog to a list of eight evil thoughts that can infect the soul. In 590 A.D. Pope Gregory the Great reexamined Evagrius, combined hubris and vainglory into pride and declared that these sins were deadly to body and soul. To Gregory the worst sin on the list is pride.
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(Billy Wilson:)  Today on World Impact we are talking about the seven deadly sins. Specifically we’re talking about what many have called the mother of all sin, which is pride. Pride is in the list of wrath, greed, sloth, lust, envy, gluttony, and then pride, the seven deadly sins. Now some of the scriptural understanding of these seven deadly sins comes from a passage in Proverbs chapter 6 verse 16 and 17, which says, “These six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him.” And then the writer of Proverbs begins the list, and he begins the list with “a proud look.” Pride is one of the very base and core sins. Now today we’re going to be talking about the fact that God wants to get back to the root of sin. Many times in America and around the world we see all of the symptoms of sin. We see addiction or we see abortion or we see divorce but we forget what the very root of those sins, what is the causative agent of those sins, in our lives. Now Scripture says that the axe is laid to the root of the tree. In fact John the Baptist in his preaching said the axe is already at the root. I believe what God is calling for right now in the American church is us to bring the axe, the sharp edge of His Word, to the root, to the causative sins, so we can have real deliverance in our personal lives as well as in our society. Many times in America and around the world preachers and ministers find themselves acting more like nurses than doctors. Nurses many times diagnose symptoms. For instance, if you have a bad headache a nurse will treat your symptoms. She will give you something to alleviate your headache. Simply, they are not trained to go beyond that treating of symptoms. But when a doctor comes in the room and you say you have a severe headache he asks the question, “What is behind that headache? What is the causative agent for your pain and for your suffering?” I think we have to do the same in our lives. We have to look beyond the symptoms of our moral and our spiritual failure and look to the very causative agent. What is the root of the sin that is going on your life? Now today we’re going to talk with you about what I believe is one of the great roots of all sin which is pride. William Barclay said, “Pride is the ground in which all other sins grow.” And Malcolm Muggeridge said, “What will finally destroy us is not communism nor fascism but man acting like God.” Today in this message I want to talk about four things concerning the sin of pride. I want to look at four things that happen when we’re proud. First of all, pride exalts itself against God. In many ways this is the original sin. Long before the Garden of Eden and man’s disobedience to God in the Garden, was Lucifer’s disobedience and pride in heaven. We see an account of this in Isaiah chapter 14 verse 12 through 15. “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn.” This is what Lucifer would have been called in this passage. “You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations. You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” Satan wanted to exalt himself to be like God and to be above God. Because of this he was kicked out, pushed out, thrown out of heaven. Now God’s Word tells us that when we exalt ourselves in pride against God, that God must deal with that. In fact Proverbs chapter 15 verse 25 says, “The Lord tears down the proud man’s house but he keeps the widow’s boundaries intact.” And in Proverbs 16 and 18 it says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Nicolae Ceausescu, who was the cruel dictator of Romania during the 20th century, was a man filled with pride. After years of persecuting Christians and killing his opposition in every way possible, he instructed the national opera to write a song about him that would be sung in his honor at his 72nd birthday, which would have been on January 26th, 1990. The songs words were, “Ceausescu is good, righteous and holy.” However, one month before his birthday, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were executed on Christmas of 1989. Pride always goes before destruction.

(Announcer:)  The notion that pride is a dangerous vice is a global idea, extending far beyond the Judeo-Christian world. In Greek legend Icarus attempted to escape from Crete on wings made from feathers and wax. In pride he flew too close to the sun and his wax wings melted. He fell into the sea and drowned. Narcissus was a mythological hunter who saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it. Reaching out to embrace the image of himself, he too fell into the water and drowned. In Roman mythology Arachne was talented weaver who boasted her skill was greater than the goddess Athena. For her arrogance, Athena turned her into a spider so that she would weave forever and never rest. A Central African legend says that tortoise cracked its shell after trying to fly like a parrot. And in 600 B.C., the Chinese Tsaoist leader Lao Tzu rebuked Confucius, saying, “A man of utmost virtue is always simple. It will do you good, O great Confucius, if you cut off your pride and reduce your haughtiness.” Pride is to be avoided by everyone, everywhere in the world.

(Announcer:)  Our greatest need is for spiritual fathers and mothers. There are 13 million single parent families in America. Twenty-four million boys and girls live apart from their fathers. Many of them feel abandoned even long after they grow up. But God sees the tears they cry. Written out of Dr. Billy Wilson’s personal journey and ministry experience, “Father Cry” will teach you to hear and answer the cry of the fatherless. Order “Father Cry” now at WorldImpact.tv and become the spiritual parent this generation desperately needs. “Father Cry,” available now at WorldImpact.tv.

(Billy Wilson:)  Today on World Impact we are talking about the seven deadly sins, and specifically we’re talking about the root sin of pride. In the first part of our message we talked about the fact that pride exalts itself against God and requires that God do something about it. In fact Scripture says, “Pride goes before destruction.” Lucifer learned this lesson and so have others through history. One graphic example is found in Daniel chapter 4 of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was a man of great personal pride. He had a statue raised up to him that was 90 feet tall and called everybody in the kingdom to bow down to him. At one point in Daniel chapter 4 he has a dream. The dream is about a tree that has been cut down and stripped bare. No one in the kingdom can interpret the dream until Daniel comes in. Finally Daniel says to King Nebuchadnezzar, “The dream is about you. You have been lifted high. You have been like a great tree, but God is about to cut you down. However, if you’re merciful to the poor and you humble yourself maybe God will have mercy upon you.” One year later Nebucadnezzar does not take heed to Daniel’s warning or the warning God has given him in the dream. In fact, he looks out over his kingdom and he says, “Look at all that I have done.” Immediately God speaks from heaven. Nebuchadnezzar loses his mind and is exiled from the kingdom of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar becomes like a wild man. His hair grows out three or four times longer than it should have been. His nails grow out until they become like animal claws, and he is exiled living like an animal in the dirt, on the ground, away from the throne, far away from being king. During this time Nebuchadnezzar finally comes to himself and realizes that God is exalted and not man. In Daniel chapter 4 verse 34 he says it this way. “At the end of that time I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High. I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation.” Then he goes on to say in verse 37, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven because everything He does is right and all His ways are just, and those who walk in pride He is able to humble.” Pride exalts itself against God. Second today, pride exerts itself against others. Pride says, I am better than you are. Oswald Sanders says, “Pride is a sin of whose presence its victim is least conscious.” Today I want to share with you that the ground is level at the foot of Christ’s cross. All of us are equal in God’s eyes. Every man is created by God our Creator and every man, no matter who we are, has sinned and needs a Savior. When Jesus died on the cross only one person could look down and that was God the Father in heaven and Jesus on the cross. This left those on the ground looking up to Him. Nebuchadnezzar would say, “I looked up.” When he came to himself he lifted his eyes and saw that God was exalted. At the foot of the cross you have a centurion and a thief both looking to Jesus. You have Mary the mother of Jesus who had been a virgin before Jesus came into her womb, and you have Mary of Magdala who had been a prostitute. Both of them in need of the Savior. You have John who is the beloved disciple and you have Peter, who was a backslidden preacher just a few hours before, both looking to Jesus for salvation. At the cross the ground is level. C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people. And of course, as long as you’re looking down you can’t see something that’s above you.” And Isaac Watts, in his great hymn, said, “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.” At the foot of the cross all of us are equal. Pride exalts itself against God and pride exerts itself against others. I believe God wants to lay the axe to the root of pride and get it out of our lives.

(Announcer:)  Two European generals, one hundred years apart, made the same mistake with the same rationale, and lost their hopes of empire. French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ignored the advice of his military advisors and attacked Russia. He began the offensive with 400,000 troops. Less than 10,000 men returned home. Napoleon was exiled three years later. In 1941 Germany launched the largest land offensive in history by invading Russia with 3.9 million troops. Hitler believed that German superior power of will would prove unbreakable. He was wrong. This one offensive accounted for 95% of all German casualties in World War 2. In both cases, many historians agree these generals may have retained control over all Europe if they had avoided a land war in Asia. But their mistake was not a failed invasion of Russia. It was giving in to pride.

(Billy Wilson:)  Pride does bring destruction. It brings destruction to those around you and it brings destruction to your own heart. Today we’re talking about the seven deadly sins, specifically about the sin of pride. In the first part of our teaching I talked about the fact that pride exalts itself against God, and secondly that pride exerts itself against others. I want to continue now with two other points concerning pride. The third point is that pride expels itself from the grace of God. Now I know this sounds unusual but listen to what God’s Word says in James chapter 4 verse 6. “He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture said, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” And in First Peter 5:5, “Young men in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” God opposes pride wherever He finds it. Now in the King James version it says resists. And this word opposes or resists comes from a Greek word which means to range oneself against, to oppose actively or to stand at opposition against one. God actively opposes pride. Now it used to, when I read the Scripture, I thought God just withheld himself. In other words it was hard to reach God with pride in our heart. But as I really studied this passage I realized that God actively seeks to oppose those that are proud. So when pride is reigning in your heart, you are fighting against God and God’s grace is cut off from your life. In fact when God’s grace is filling your heart there’s no room for pride and when pride is filling your heart there’s no room for grace. Benjamin Whichcote said, “None are so empty as those who are full of themselves.” And D.L. Moody said, “God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.” Pride blocks God’s grace because it robs us of our desperation for God’s help. When someone is living in pride they basically are saying, “I don’t need God.” But when we humble ourselves we’re willing to repent, we’re willing to ask for forgiveness, and we’re willing to express our desperation that we simply cannot live without the presence of the living God. So pride exalts itself against God, pride exerts itself against others, and pride expels itself from the grace of God. Finally, pride exposes itself to darkness. The original sin of pride in Lucifer’s heart in heaven meant that when we are proud we become allied with darkness and the prince of darkness. Now this is a principle we must understand, that when we allow pride to reign in our heart, when we don’t bring the axe of God’s Word to the pride in our lives, we become the ally with Lucifer and thus we are opposing the will of God. Peter the apostle had a real struggle with personal pride. He was always speaking when he shouldn’t speak and he was always claiming things that really he could not live out. At one point Jesus is telling the disciples, “I will go to the cross. I will be crucified with the Gentiles.” And Peter pulls Him aside, and Scripture says in Matthew 16:22, “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never Lord,’ he said, ‘This shall never happen to You.’ At that moment Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.’” Now how could this be, that this apostle who was greatly used in a revelation of Jesus Christ, would be called Lucifer or Satan by Jesus? He said, “Get behind me Satan.” It’s because Peter thought he knew more than God.  He said to Jesus, “You’re wrong. It’ll never happen to you.” And Jesus said, “You are on Satan’s side because pride has filled your heart.” Pride exalts itself against God, exerts itself against others, expels itself from the grace of God and exposes itself to the prince of darkness. Today I believe that God wants to take His Word and use the axe, the sharp edge of His Word, and lay it to the root of this sin in your life and set you free from pride.

(Announcer:)  Our greatest need is for spiritual fathers and mothers. There are 13 million single parent families in America. Twenty-four million boys and girls live apart from their fathers. Many of them feel abandoned even long after they grow up. But God sees the tears they cry. Written out of Dr. Billy Wilson’s personal journey and ministry experience, “Father Cry” will teach you to hear and answer the cry of the fatherless. Order “Father Cry” now at WorldImpact.tv and become the spiritual parent this generation desperately needs. “Father Cry,” available now at WorldImpact.tv.

(Billy Wilson:)  Pride is deceptive and it’s always difficult to tell if it’s going on in your own heart. I hope this test has helped you to determine if pride is taking place in your heart. Perhaps during this show today you have realized that you’re struggling with pride. Maybe you see the symptoms. You always have to have your own way. You’ve got division going on in your family. You’re angry at others that would criticize you or speak against you in any way or you’re jealous of people that have gotten positions above you and you feel like you’re better than they are. I want to remind you today that God is able to take the axe of His Word and lay it to the root of this causative sin in your life and set you free. If you’ll ask Him today, God will help you empty yourself of pride so you can be filled with Him. If you’re struggling with this today and you want prayer, I want you to call me at 1-800-95-SHARE in the United States or go to our website, WorldImpact.tv. One of the opposites of pride is admission of need. When we open our hearts and we say to God, “I need your help,” we are smiting pride in our life. We’re saying, “God, You’re on the throne. I lift my eyes to You. I trust You and I will not be my own god. I trust you as my God.” So call us right now. We’ll pray for you and your need. 1-800-95-SHARE in the United States or WorldImpact.tv. I believe by the power and the sharpness of God’s Word you can defeat pride in your life.

(Don Moen:)
When it's all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for truth?
Did I live my life for you?

When it's all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I have done
For love's rewards
Will stand the test of time

Lord, your mercy is so great
That you look beyond our weakness
And find purest gold in miry clay
Turning sinners into saints

I will always sing your praise
Here on earth and ever after
For you've showed me heaven's my true home
When it's all been said and done
You're my life when life is gone.

(Billy Wilson:)  Today I really do appreciate you joining us on this World Impact program wherever you live in the world. We appreciate very much your viewership and allowing us to share God’s Word with you. We’ve been addressing a tough issue today, pride. It’s one that resides in most of our hearts in some corner and needs to be dealt with by God’s Word. You know, we’re convinced here at World Impact that God’s Word is powerful in our generation and we’re going to use God’s Word to share the knowledge of His glory with the entire world. We’re asking you to join us today. Join us in prayer, join us in watching us on a weekly basis wherever you live, and you can join us financially. And in fact I do need your support in order to continue to minister God’s Word around the world. We’re asking people wherever they live to give $21 a month or $210 a month to help us with this 21st century strategy of covering the earth with the knowledge of His glory. So right now go to the website, WorldImpact.tv, $21 a month or $210 a month, and say, Billy, I want to help you cover the earth. I’m Billy Wilson. This is World Impact, and we’re sharing Jesus with the world.