Scripture: Daniel 4 v 30 - 34: "The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?
31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:"
We worship a God who does not change. From generation to generation, from millennium to millennium, He is the same. Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
What He pronounced on Nebuchadnezzar is the way He deals with all pride in people everywhere. You should read the whole chapter about the king's dream and Daniel's interpretation. The king was warned about what would happen if he failed to acknowledge his Creator.
For a whole year he curbed his arrogance until the verses above. He was cast out into the field to live like an animal until he came to his senses seven years later, and repented of his self-worship and self-acclaim and gave all the glory to Almighty God.
In Proverbs it says a haughty spirit goes before a fall, and pride before destruction. Indeed it was when pride was found in Lucifer that he fell from Heaven like lightning. It is something we face in this world.
National Pride, pride in our achievements, pride in our family, pride in our superior spiritual abilities, pride in our sportsmen and women. Pride lurks around every corner so when the Lord says He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, we need to find out what being humble means, before we are eating grass under the dew of heaven for seven years!
Humility is accepting that without God you are nothing. It means giving Him credit for every good thing. One pastor explained it well. He said he was awarded a badge for being most humble. He lost his award when he pinned it to his shirt.
Humility is displayed by keeping out of the limelight, keeping a low profile, acknowledging the achievements of others and esteeming others more highly than yourself. This is the correct Christian perspective that allows the grace of God to flourish in your life.
God resists the proud by not hearing their prayers or cries. If you have been praying for a long time without an answer then check carefully for pride in your heart and mind. Another way He resists you is that you seldom feel His presence or the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifesting in your ministry or life.
There are many denominations of churches who shun the gifts of the Holy Spirit as not applicable today.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are found in 1 Corinthians 12 v 6 - 10: "And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:"
Our Father gave us these gifts to help us to grow in grace and become useful instruments in His hands. We may have one or two or all the gifts operating in our lives. The Lord adds and refines and deepens these gifts as we mature in the correct use of them.
If we arrogantly spurn these wonderful gifts from our Father, it insults Him, and may cause the spiritual light in those churches to diminish to nothing. The thief who is Satan comes in to steal, kill and destroy in those places and he can work undetected because the only way of discerning him is not employed.
Pride in the hearts of those who decide on what part of God's Word is acceptable and what can be dispensed with, affects many millions of souls for which those who continue to do this will be held accountable. You may be very vocal about corruption in the world, but the corruption of God's Word does not bother you. This is a manifestation of the spirit of pride and it needs to be bound and cast out.
A spirit of pride has a posse of other demons accompanying it. They are deception, domination, unteachableness, tantrums, elitism, racism, rivalry and competition. These characteristics showing up in Christians is contrary to who we are meant to be.
If you are truly humble you always want others to succeed. If you are abiding in the Vine you have surrendered all to Jesus, our blessed Saviour, and no longer have your own will, you are submitted to God's will for your life. Pride will never allow that. It is independent and egotistical.
Jesus came to give us life more abundantly, and His final words before His ascension to Heaven were that the disciples must wait in Jerusalem for the Father's gift of the Holy Spirit, who came ten days later. In Peter's first sermon after he was filled and anointed by the Holy Spirit, he said the gift was for everyone even those afar off, meaning us nearly 2000 years later.
If you are missing out on this wonderful blessing go search for it somewhere else or get alone with the Lord and ask Him to baptize you in the Holy Spirit and give you the gift of tongues, miracles, faith, prophecy and healing. Yes and discerning of spirits too. It will change your life completely and beautifully to be so close to God and see Him work His wonders through you. Crucify your pride and be adorned with humility and meekness. It is a precious ornament in the sight of our God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father crush every bit of pride, ego, arrogance and superiority in us until it is gone forever. Replace it with submitted and humble hearts that exalt You above all. We ask for Your perfect gifts to manifest in us for the benefit of those who desperately need them. Help us O Lord to be teachable, reachable disciples. In Jesus' name. Amen.
