~ Karlin 24th December 2023
ACTS 16: 17-18
She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High
God, who are telling you the way to be saved. She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul
became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I
command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
The spirit was not only aware of the duties of a man of God, but even kept taunting Paul by repeatedly
calling them Servants of the Most High. His aim was to create at least an ounce of pride within their
hearts. However, Paul did not take heed of her words, and then he cast out the spirit when he realized
what the spirit was trying to do.
In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul says, `Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an
overseer desires a noble task’
Matthew 23:11-12
the greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Jesus said, one
who aspires to be the greatest, should be willing to serve. However, people nowadays are
unwilling follow these teachings.
1 Timothy 3: 2-7, talks about the characteristics that a deacon/overseer should possess. And
verse 7 says,” He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into
disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
It was due to his pride and greed that Lucifer was sent down from heaven.
Similarly, pride filled the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar over his kingdom in Daniel 4,
which later led to his downfall (for seven years). [examples from the bible]
Acts 16:19 – “When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone…” There
were many who were using her for financial gains.
Daniel 5: 4-31
Out of his pride and drunkenness, King Belshazzar took the gold and silver cups taken from the
Temple of Jerusalem, during a banquet, to drink wine and proceed to worship other gods.
Because of this, God punished him (writing on the wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN), which
later led to the division of his kingdom and his demise. Darius, the King of Medes, took over.
As per the vision (of the great statue) that King Nebuchadnezzar had, we are now near the end
(feet made partly of iron and baked clay) and hence should not fall prey to pride but instead,
give all praise and glory to the Lord.