“Summer Love Series - The Things We Do For Love”
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 07/13/25 (2nd Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
This month we’re continuing to talk about love as an action. We have a new month…
We have a new title.
A song by 10cc:
Message Title:
“Summer Love Series - The Things We Do For Love”
Matthew 5 tells us.
We are called to be the salt of the earth. We are called to be the light of the world.
We are called to be something not everyone can be. We are called to be different!
“God Called Me To Be Different!”
What does being different mean? It means we have a responsibility.
to act different. to be different.
Meaning we can’t do everything everyone else does. We have something we’re supposed to do.
John 13:34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
We are to love one another. But not just any love.
but a standard set by how he loves us.
But verse 35 says WHY it’s so important.
Verse 35
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Your Ability To Love Shows Who You Represent! We Are Nothing Without It!
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
No matter what you do.
Love has to be the root.
It’s how we show we are disciples.
But it’s also the thing we MUST have!
The Thing That Makes Us Look Different From Others Is How We SHOW Love To Others!
So what’s our scripture for this series?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Last month we talked about patience, kindness and envy. We gave biblical examples for these.
and we’ve gotten deeper in our study groups.
Today we will talk about the next two: pride and boasting. Both of these deal with ourselves.
and one influences the other.
Let’s talk about pride first.
Pride (n) - a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated.
This is the definition of pride.
SOME forms of pride CAN be forms of love. you can be proud of others.
if your children make the honor roll… aren’t you proud of them?
THAT pride is a form of love.
Where pride becomes a problem…
is when you have pride in yourself.
SELF pride is the problem.
It’s okay to feel good about yourself as a person…
But deep pleasure or satisfaction with what YOU have done is the problem. Let’s compare this with boasting.
Boast (v) - talk with excessive pride and self- satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.
Boasting is when you talk too much about yourself. when you brag about what you’ve done. when you shake your own hand.
when you congratulate yourself it’s the opposite of humility.
And both of these usually go together.
Pride Is When You Take All The Credit For Your Accomplishments; Boasting Is When You Brag About Them!
This is something some of us do without knowing. Having the wrong sense of pride leads to boasting.
“I did this.” “I did that.”
“You did something? I did it better.”
“You graduated HS? I have a college degree.” “I’m the best. No one is better.”
We can be guilty of it in the church also.
“I’m a minister…you’re not.”
There are multiple examples of pride AND boasting in the bible.
2 Chronicles 26:3-5
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
Uzziah was 16 when he became king.
He was king in Jerusalem from 16 to 68 years old.
as long as he sought the Lord…he had success.
The Lord Will Bless You As Long As You Seek Him First!
Uzziah would have success in war.
Verse 8
8 The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
He had become POWERFUL… his FAME spread…
The bible said that he became well known…
but NOT because of what HE was doing…
but because the LORD gave him success.
THIS is how he goes wrong.
Verse 16-21
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
Uzziah was told by the priest he was messing up.
you are the king.
you are not the priest.
Verse 19
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
Uzziah became prideful in thinking he could do what the priest does. he thought because he was successful…
because the Lord was with him… that he couldn’t be told no.
So when he WAS told no… he becomes angry.
Pride Won’t Let You See When You Are Wrong
Because he did so many things with the favor of the Lord… He began to think it was HIM and not the Lord.
Like HE was able to do those things. That it wasn’t the hand of the Lord…
So he pridefully stepped outside of his lane. and the Lord gave him leprosy.
Verse 21
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house— leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
King Uzziah began to look at all he had and think it was him. This is what happens to us also.
Here are 4 ways we unknowingly show pride in our lives:
4 Ways We Can Show Pride In Our Lives:
Uzziah was guilty of this.
he allowed his success to ruin his humility.
he knew priests should be burning the incense but he made a bad decision
because he thought too much of himself. How many times do we make a decision without praying?
There is nothing we can’t go to the Lord about…
assuming we can handle things on our own is where pride can come in. even our BEST decisions can be wrong.
The Lord Is Our Everything! Without Him We Are Nothing!
In John 15:5 he said he is the vine and we are the branches… apart from him we can do NOTHING.
4 Ways We Can Show Pride In Our Lives:
none of us are perfect
if others bring something to us…
being overly defensive MIGHT be cause to stop and wonder. “Do I have pride in my heart?”
It Is Okay To Apologize
The idea of I can’t give them the edge I know I was right…
I….I….I….it’s possible pride could be setting in.
For the sake of love…don’t let pride sit in.
4 Ways We Can Show Pride In Our Lives:
We are not the moral police.
when we consistently judge someone of their actions… we promote ourselves as WE know better.
Pride Can Lead People To Be Overly Judgmental, Which Isn’t Love And Separates Us From The Lord
You might know what that other person is doing wrong… but go talk TO them…
not TO someone else ABOUT them.
That’s a form of pride.
And because of pride, it can lead to boasting.
Daniel 4:4
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me.
King Nebuchadnezzar is writing this letter. he is content and prosperous.
he has a successful kingdom.
But he didn’t do it without the Lord’s help.
he had GREAT men of God in high positions.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego were in various places. So the king has a dream and shares it with Daniel.
It’s detailed that talks about a mighty tree that goes to the heavens
but is cut down.
Daniel interprets the dream.
Verse 24-26
24 “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
The Lord is going to punish him because he had an issue with pride. He built the image of gold for everyone to worship.
Then told Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego they had to bow… and what god could save them from his hand??
The king would have to acknowledge that God is king and he is nothing.
All He Had To Do Was Acknowledge The Lord!
Someone say:
“God is the reason I have all I have.” But he couldn’t do that!
Daniel 4:28-30
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
The great Babylon he built…by HIS mighty power… and for who’s glory?
HIS??
Saying You Did Something When It Was The Lord Is Taking His Credit!
The king is boasting of what he has done!
Verse 31-32
31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
This is exactly what he dreamed would happen.
His refusal to drop his pride and boasting… cost him everything.
4 Ways We Can Show Pride In Our Lives:
Nebuchadnezzar had been so used to glorifying himself… he didn’t even realize he was nothing without the Lord. the Lord had his hands on him…
yet the king refused to acknowledge him. so he lost it all.
We have been blessed with many things also.
We might have money or a good job health or status.
but we would be nothing if it weren’t for the Lord who allowed us to have it!
{recap}
Pride may sound like it’s something far from us…
but it’s actually something we REALLY need to check.
This is the thing that will separate you from God.
4 Ways We Can Show Pride In Our Lives:
-
Relying Too Much On Yourself Without Asking The Lord
-
Being Overly Defensive Or Not Admitting When We’re Wrong
-
Being Overly Judgmental Of Others Without Compassion
-
Taking Credit For What The Lord Has Done For Us
The Lord doesn’t like pride.
Luke 18:14
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
We will talk more about this on Wednesday in our study groups.
