Pastor John Collins, Wyoming evangelist: Pride and lack of humility
Pride and humility.
We are a proud people here in the United States. We have so much that we have accomplished,
the rest of the world sometimes looks at us in disgust because we give the
appearance of not being satisfied. It’s
never enough and we draw attention to ourselves where ever we go. Celebrities are recognized and lifted up as
examples for us to live by. Through all
of the media, it’s “look what I can do”.
God resists the proud. Pride will not get any soul into heaven.
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Our faith as Christians today
doesn’t measure up to the faith
of Abraham, of Noah, of Moses, of David.
These men were humble
to begin with and knew the value
and spirit
of humility before God. Our pride gets
in the way. How would God choose
from among us today? We often don’t have
the strength of faith to worship Him, let alone look beyond
what our human hands and minds create and put before God. Our offerings of ourselves lack humility. We need to let go of pride and ego, let go of
the pride that we
have accomplished
something and let God and
Jesus
Christ work in our lives.
Evangelist Pastor John Collins began a revival of awakening in Wyoming.
That awakening
stirs the spirit of those who hear
him. From a pulpit or
behind the microphone of a recording studio, his words are Biblically correct.
Being Biblically correct in a very politically correct world is difficult for
most of the strongest of Christians
today. Pastor John Collins says it well
and puts pride and humility into this perspective:
“Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would
be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little
child and set him by Him, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this little child
in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For
he who is least among you all will be great.’” Luke 9:46-48
Who is worthy to be lifted up? How does God choose
those that He would separate
and use for His purposes? He chose Abraham and Abraham was considered a friend
of God’s. He chose David and David was a man after God’s own heart. He sent His
Son who died for us all. Even those who
walked with Jesus
thought of themselves
and the impact that they would have on this world.
This is so wonderful to know that the human instinct to desire
to rise above and be great
was felt in those men who walked
with Christ.
This allows us to recognize this in ourselves
and work to overcome
that ego. They were corrected and they learned what true
humility is. They witnessed their Lord humble Himself to the
Cross. Yet there are so many that want to be great in
the name of the Lord. They call attention to themselves
and think highly
of themselves. But, God
resists the proud and gives grace
to the humble. Believe me when I tell you that God knows what He is doing
and He
knows our hearts.
Pastor John Collins of Love That Cross Wyoming Revival continues on: God has no use for pride.
God does not want servants that think highly of themselves
and their eligibility. God wants people to serve Him that are humble of heart. When
we choose to walk
with Jesus it should be with a pure heart and a true devotion to obedience
to the Lord. We should never seek our own acclaim. We should not care what
others think of us. We should be concerned only with whether we are an asset to
the kingdom of God or a burden. If we have selfish ambition in our heart and a
desire to stand out and be important, we are seeking status in this life and we
are then unworthy to be a true servant of the Lord.
We must be careful when we desire to leave a name for
ourselves, to want to be recognized for our importance or to be valued among
men. A truly worthy person that will serve God well is a person that has no
ambition in his heart. This person thinks of salvation when he looks upon the
souls of this world. This person has sadness in his heart because of the
condition of the human race. This person worries of the state of others’ faith
in their lives. This person considers opportunities to share the gospel and
help others come to Jesus. This person wants to see others go to heaven and
lives his life as an example. This person will sacrifice and find ways to be a
light in a world of dark. This person will please God.
“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” James 2:5
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:3-6
Learning to be humble takes a commitment to become obedient
to God. In order to become obedient to
God, we need to learn to draw near to Him in prayer and through the words in
the Holy Bible. God wants each of us to
have the opportunity to come to know Him, so that we all can go home to Him one
day. That is the reason He sent His Son
Jesus Christ, for our salvation through His sacrifice on the Cross. Jesus humbly accepted the punishment of our
sins, died publicly in humility and obedience.
God won’t ask us to do anything that He won’t equip us to handle. We can become obedient and humble ourselves
before God, just as His Son did. God
wants us to come to know Him and His love, to help us with our lives and be
part of our lives here in this world.
Pride and ego turns us from God.
To be meek, to be poor in spirit means to be humble; we need to learn
the humility of Christ. Bring back God in our lives, come humbly to the foot of
the Cross.
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