Overcome By Your Presence Lord!
God showed up and showed off in our first Pine United Methodist Church Thursday night service that was held live back indoors. You know I always use the term ‘show off,’ and I do not mean it disrespectfully. I mean, God does things better and bigger than we can ever imagine. I believe He loves to show us what He can do! He was making His presence known while we sang, Welcome Holy Spirit. “Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your Glory God is what our hearts long for, to be overcome by your presence, Lord.” I am telling you, I was overcome! Leaning On The Everlasting Arms touched me when we sang, “What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the everlasting arms.” From “In The Name Of Jesus,” we sang, “God is fighting for us. God is on our side. He has overcome”. After watching all of the negative news, this was what I needed to hear! We were supposed to keep our eyes closed while Pastor Tim played and sang, “Midnight Cry.” I love to watch Pastor Tim “bang” on the piano, so I kept my eyes open. The song was so powerful as he sang, “I see prophecies fulfilling and signs of the times, they appear everywhere. I can almost hear the Father as He says, “Son, go get your children.” God will take care of His people no matter how crazy the world gets!
The name of our sermon series is Battlefield 2020, Spiritual Warfare. Pastor Tim talked about pride being the downfall. It started with Satan as the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Satan was an archangel in the presence of God, and he fell! In both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, we learn that Satan's pride led to his downfall. Satan said in Isaiah 14:13-14, "You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'" That was his great fall!
Luke 22:3-4, “ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.” As Pastor Tim said, we may not have betrayed Jesus in this way, but we have denied Jesus. Paul encouraged the believers in Rome in Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." He was warning them to be in control of their mind, not allowing any pride to enter. When we keep our thoughts fixed on God and His truth, we protect our minds and attitudes. This gives us peace. When we get peace, and we know it is from God, we become humble. We know we need God and cannot do life by ourselves. Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
Pride destroys relationships. It shows up as competition, criticism, being fake, judgmental, criticism, and other ways. I love the saying, "Pride will always be the longest distance between two people." Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Humility is the antidote to pride. Humility builds relationships. The Bible tells us to be humble in 1 Peter 3:8, "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble." Proverbs 29:23, "Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.”
Prideful behavior hinders us from doing what brings glory to God. If you give in to pride, there will be consequences. You may have offended someone, but pride keeps you from asking forgiveness. You may need to reconcile a relationship, but pride keeps you from doing it. The Spirit may convict you that you are sinning but pride will not let you admit it. Never let your pride keep something broken that your heart wants to fix. Pride will cost you everything and leave you with nothing.
I talked to some visitors after the service, and I was told, “It has been years since I have felt this way.” They were all smiles as they, too, had been overcome by the presence of God! We are in the middle of spiritual warfare, but our God is madly in love with us, and He wants what is best for us. 1 John 4:4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” With humility and trust, let’s prepare for battle.