Grosey's Messages

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
4  though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
5  circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
6  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Dr. Seuss wrote a children's story called Yertle the Turtle that illustrates the dangers of pride: In the story, Yertle is ruler of a little pond on the faraway island of Sala-ma-Sond. Dr. Seuss tells us:

The turtles had everything turtles might need.

And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.

They were...until Yertle, the king of them all,

decided the kingdom he ruled was too small.

"I'm ruler," said Yertle, "of all that I see.

But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me.

With this stone for a throne, I look down on my pond,

But I cannot look down on the places beyond.

This throne that I sit on is too, too low down.

It ought to be higher!" he said with a frown.

If I could sit high, how much greater I'd be!

What a king! I'd be ruler of all I could see!"

In his quest for greatness, Yertle ordered some of the turtles in the pond to stand on each other's backs so that they could become his new and higher throne. Soon he had a wonderful view and could see "most a mile." Yet Yertle wasn't satisfied. He ordered more and more turtles to become part of his throne so that he could be exalted to even greater heights. From his lofty perch, Yertle swelled with stupid pride and feelings of self-importance;

"All mine!" Yertle cried. "Oh, the things I now rule!

I'm king of a cow! And I'm king of a mule!

I'm king of a house! And, what's more beyond that,

I'm king of a blueberry bush and a cat!

I'm Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me!

For I am the ruler of all that I see!"

Then something happened at the bottom of his turtle throne. One insignificant subject named Mack decided that he and the other turtles had taken enough abuse. He didn't organize a rebellion, however; he merely burped. Yet the tremors from that burp brought down the mighty Yertle and plunged him into the place reserved for all who think they are something special: "And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he, is King of the Mud. That is all he can see."

Luke 18: 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

A dear friend, Louie, gave me a book a couple of years ago that, he said, had detailed his experience for many years. He had been a zealous churchgoer, witnessing for Christ in the streets of Ashfield. And then, after a distressing time, he wound up at our church in East Hills. Later he discovered that for most of his life he had been an almost Christian. He had thought he was saved, but he discovered he had never been saved. I think that is the experience of many, and may even be your experience here today. The book my friend gave me was by an old Puritan; Matthew Mead, The Almost Christian Discovered. He wrote the book because he wanted to address a very significant problem. The problem he wanted to address was the fact that there were many people who thought they were saved and weren't. There were many people who claimed to be saved, and weren't. So he was addressing the problem 300 years ago that Paul was addressing nearly 2,000 years ago that we are now addressing today.

Matthew Mead has a long section in the book of about 120 pages in which he addresses how far a person can go and still not be a true Christian...how far a person can advance toward heaven, toward Christ, toward God and still not truly be saved. And these are the things he suggests:

"A man may have much knowledge about Christ and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may have a great and eminent gift, yet be but almost a Christian." He means by that a speaking gift, a leadership gift.

"A man may have a high profession of religion. He may be much in external duties of goodness and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may go far in opposing his own sin and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may hate sin and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may make great vows and promises, strong purposes and resolutions against his sin and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may maintain a strife and a combat against sin and yet be but almost a Christian.

"A man may be a member of the church and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may have great hopes of heaven and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may under visible changes, altered life and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may be very zealous in matters of religion and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may be much in prayers and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may even suffer for Christ's sake and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may outwardly obey the commandments and yet be but almost a Christian. A man may perform external worship yet be but almost a Christian. And a man may have faith and yet be but almost a Christian."

Louie’s experience was similar to Paul’s.

Paul’s pride in ritual (v. 5) I was “circumcised the eighth day.” Paul was born a Jew and therefore was automatically a member of the covenant nation. He was a Jew by birth and he bore the sign of the covenant on his body. He was reminded every day of that covenant with God. Modern day circumcision has nothing to do with that ritual sign of the covenant with Israel. But when he added it all up and placed it against the righteousness of Christ he could only say, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul’s pride in relationship (v. 5) I am “of the nation of Israel.” He could point back with pride to his ancestry in the patriarch Jacob (Gen. 32:28). But then Jesus said it is “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (v. 12).

Therefore Paul says, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul’s pride in respectability (v. 5) I am “of the tribe of Benjamin.” The Benjaminites were respected for their allegiance to God and the covenant when the majority was disloyal.

Paul came to realize that God does not accept your family heritage as merits for salvation. “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul’s pride in his race (v. 5) I am a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” I am a descendent of Abraham, a pure Jew. Both of my parents were Hebrews and they taught me Aramaic.

To which Paul could only say, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul’s pride in religion (v. 5) “As to the Law, a Pharisee.” Moreover, his father was also a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). You couldn’t be more religious than a good Pharisee.

But Jesus drew a line in the sand saying, “For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Therefore, Paul could only conclude, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul’s pride in reputation (v. 6) As to my “zeal, a persecutor of the church” (cf. Acts 9:1). Saul of Tarsus was an honest, sincere protector of the Jewish religion. He even murdered Christians in the name of God and loyalty to God. He worked hard at his religion, but in all his zeal he was a lost man going to hell.

He could only conclude, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul’s pride in his righteousness (v. 6) “As to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.” He could say with the young ruler, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up” (Mark 10:20). Paul was as righteous as you can get in the eyes of fellow religious men. He was sincere and honest in his religious convictions.

But Paul had to conclude differently when he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. There he saw the pure perfect righteousness of the risen Jesus Christ and had to conclude with Isaiah, “all our righteousness is filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). He realized that his own works would burn up when it came into the presence of a holy and righteous God. But yours and mine will, too. All our robes of self-righteousness will burn up under the wrath of God who is perfect in His righteousness. In exchange for his self-righteousness Paul received a right standing with God which is by faith in Christ. “He [God] make Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

What else could Paul declare, “But whatever things were gain to me, those I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

PRIDE BLINDS PEOPLE TO THEIR NEEDS. (Pharisee was so full of himself that He didn't realize he needed God.

To all my faults my eyes are blind;

mine are the sins I cannot find.

But your mistakes I see a plenty;

For them my eyes are twenty-twenty.

After a minister had preached a searching sermon on pride, a woman who had heard the sermon waited upon him and told him that she was in much distress of mind, and that she would like to confess to a great sin. The minister asked her what the sin was.

She answered, "The sin of pride, for I sat for an hour before my mirror some days ago admiring my beauty."

"Oh," responded the minister, "that was not a sin of pride-that was a sin of imagination!"

“I put men to death in war, I fought duels to slay others. I lost at cards, wasted the substance wrung from the sweat of peasants, punished the latter cruelly, rioted with loose women, and deceived men. Lying, robbery, adultery of all kinds, drunkenness, violence, and murder, all were committed by me, not one crime omitted, and yet I was not the less considered by my equals to be a comparatively moral man. Such was my life for ten years. (ibid, Ch. VI) Tolstoy

PRIDE TEACHES PEOPLE TO DESPISE. (v.9) It's very easy to look down on others - it comes naturally. (Whether it's because of someone's race, gender, socio-economic status, religion, etc. We are all created by God and equal in his sight. We are to love - and if not, we are not saved. 1Cor.13:2; 1Jn.3:14).

Count Leo Tolstoy was a man who unashamedly called himself ‘Christian’. He once penned these words into his diary: ‘I have not yet met a single man who was morally as good as I. ... I do not remember an instance in my life when I was not attracted to what is good And was not ready to sacrifice anything to it’.

Time and time again Tolstoy proved this statement a lie. He was a constant womanizer and he often neglected his family. Tolstoy's diary goes on to say that he felt in his soul, ‘immeasurable grandeur’ and he was baffled by the failure of other men to recognize his qualities: ‘Why does nobody love me? I am not a fool, not deformed, not a bad man, not an ignoramus. It is incomprehensible’.

PRIDE POLLUTES PEOPLE'S PRAYERS. It makes them stink in the nostrils of God. This man's prayers were just dripping with pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency and sanctimony. His prayers were very much like the little boy who was trying to quote the Lord's prayer for his class who slipped and said, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by MY name...." There is no more sure-fire way to guarantee that your prayers are ignored and rejected by heaven than to fill it with an attitude of pride and self-worth.

1. to receive forgiveness is to RECOGNIZE YOUR FALLEN SHORTEDNESS AND YOUR NEED TO BE FORGIVEN.

2. we need to REPENT.

Paul showed that before he was saved he was religious. He was religious enough to get into the Synagogue, but this is different than being righteous enough to get into heaven! Salvation is NOT knowing about Christ, it is KNOWING Christ!

Its more than knowing about, its decision for the truth.

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

3. We Need to RECEIVE.
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

It is Christ who saves. The Lord Jesus is the Saviour. Come to Him tonight.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 12:28 PM

Pastor Steve Grose is available weekends for teaching missions in churches or halls throughout Australia.
Steve's Bible talks are available on his other blogs.
<a href="http://stevegrose.tripod.com/" title="SteveGrose" target="_blank">http://stevegrose.tripod.com/</a>     <a href="http://grosey2.blogspot.com/">http://grosey2.blogspot.com/</a>
You may contact him directly on 0245787308.

# posted by Groseys messages @ 10:26 AM