MEMORISE:
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” – (Proverbs 16:18)
READ: 1 KINGS 19:13-18 (KJV)
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
MESSAGE:
In our Bible reading for today, you will see that God told Elijah to anoint three people to replace him. This is because you can see pride in Elijah's response when he says, "And I, even I only, am left...". There is only one "I AM" and that is God Himself (Exodus 3:14). This is why, when Jesus Christ called Himself 'I AM' in John 8:58-59, the Jews were furious that He compared Himself to God. Of course, at that time, they did not know about John 1:1 and 14, which says Jesus is God who became flesh and dwelt amongst us. The name I AM must be reserved for God and God alone.
When you search the Scriptures, you would discover that the words 'I', 'me', 'my', 'mine' are the languages of pride. That was the language of Satan in Isaiah 14:12-15. When you find someone always saying 'I', 'my', you know you are most likely dealing with a proud fellow. Beware of this because the higher you go, the greater the risk of you saying 'I', 'my', 'me' all the time.
We see an example in the strong and anointed man of God called Samson. In Judges 15:14-16, where the power of God came upon him and he killed thousands of soldiers with a jaw bone, he said, "With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men”. There was no, "Thank You, Lord" to the One who sent down the power; it was all about himself. Even when God had clearly restored his strength in Judges 16:25-28, when the enemies had caught him and plucked out his eyes and he wanted to pray just one more prayer before dying, what did he say?
And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. (Judges 16:28)
It was about him all the way. That is why, as strong and anointed as he was, he fell so low that he ended up blind and grinding corn for his enemies before dying with them.
KEY POINT:
Beware of pride because it can make you fall so low that your enemies would begin to rejoice over you.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JOHN 13-15
HYMNAL: 2 - AMAZING GRACE
1. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I was once lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
2. Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
3. The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
4. Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
5. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
6. When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we'd first begun.