Sermon – Page 2 – SOUTHAMPTON CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

Deuteronomy 1:36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.” Numbers 14:24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it Numbers 11:23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” Genesis 18:24 Abraham asking God to save Sodom What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[a] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Exodus 32:10 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” Exodus 32:14 God withdrew his treat Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

Pride

Sermon

~ Karlin 24th December 2023 ACTS 16: 17-18She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most HighGod, who are telling you the way to be saved. She kept this up for many days. Finally Paulbecame so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ Icommand 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 repeatedlycalling them Servants of the Most High. His aim was to create at least an ounce of pride within theirhearts. However, Paul did not take heed of her words, and then he cast out the spirit when he realizedwhat the spirit was trying to do. In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul says, `Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be anoverseer desires a noble task’Matthew 23:11-12 the greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exaltthemselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Jesus said, onewho aspires to be the greatest, should be willing to serve. However, people nowadays areunwilling follow these teachings. 1 Timothy 3: 2-7, talks about the characteristics that a deacon/overseer should possess. Andverse 7 says,” He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall intodisgrace 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…” Therewere many who were using her for financial gains. Daniel 5: 4-31Out of his pride and drunkenness, King Belshazzar took the gold and silver cups taken from theTemple 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), whichlater 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.