The spirit of pride chokes the life out of person by convincing them that nothing is wrong with them. While it is important to have a healthy self-esteem, pride is not synonymous with confidence. Individuals that are confident in themselves may be mistaken for being prideful when they are being observed through the lens of suspicion. Moreover, leaning on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and discernment, one should be able to discern the difference.
The spirit of accusation and envy will purposely accused individuals of pride in order to bring negative attention to towards them. Beware of how religious leaders use suspicion and discernment in their leadership. No leader is above operating in pride. Moreover, no one leader is above being called out for operating in pride.
Being an Apostle does not give one favoritism concerning pride.
Being a Bishop for 40 years does not give you the latitude to be above the statutes of God.
Being a Prophet over 96616164 regions will never exemplify you from being accountable.
Being a successful Pastor, Evangelist or Teacher will never disqualify you from called out for being prideful.
The anointing is not a disqualifier.
It doesn’t matter if you kiss Jesus’ cheek 9 times per day, when you’re wrong, you must be held accountable. Unfortunately, many leaders have begun to build themselves up in their flesh by thinking their intelligence has given them prominence. This is a complete lie and many of us will bear witness to the fall of many religious institutions because of it. Additionally, pride has been at the root of this widespread attack to silence the mouths of God’s anointed.
Proverbs, 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
I renounce and repent of all pride in my heart and mind Pride has kept many people from accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. Admitting sin and acknowledging that in our own strength we can do nothing to inherit eternal life is a constant stumbling block for prideful people. Pride can be likened unto a tree that bears evil fruits like hatred, envy, rivalry, jealousy, slander, murder, bitterness, lies, malice, contentions and conspiracies.
No one leader is above being called out for operating in pride.
Pride is vindictive when addressed and confronted. For example: Sara tells Susie that she’s concerned about her mental health. In response, Susie brings up instances where Sara was unstable in her mind instead of receiving what Sara is saying. Not only is this deflection, its arrogance and pride. Just because Sara went through a “rough patch” does not disqualify the validity of Sara’s observation of her. Pride does not like to be addressed and it will use anything it can to avoid being wrong. Pride loves accusation and word twisting for its benefit. Individuals that apart of the five-fold, especially Apostles and Prophets, are easy targets for pride.
Pride does not like to be addressed and it will use anything it can to avoid being wrong.
The spirit of pride will work in conjunction with gossip and slander to dismantle the reputation of God's anointed. Unfortunately, the spirit of pride will also disguise itself as esteem to use religious leaders to condemn one another. As aforementioned, no religious leader is above being called out for the spirit of pride. The boldness of the Lord shatters the spirit of pride. Therefore, it is not uncommon for pride to set traps for God’s anointed in order for its true intention to not be discovered. It's important to stay humble before the Lord as well as be secure in your identity as a heir of Christ. In prayer, God will reveal to you who you are and who you are not. For those of you who are intentionally misunderstood, keep your ear to the mouth of God. Confess your sins boldly and willingly before God and hold the things of this world loosely.
The accuser of the brethren wants you to conform to his accusations - but you will not bow to the devil's limitations of you. Do not be afraid to rebuke word curses that have been spoken over your life, especially if it's public. Only what God decrees over you will have legs to stand. Walk in boldness concerning the things of God - not pride. The Lord himself will distinguish the difference.
Jesus died to cleans us of our sins, so we can boldly approach our God who is holy and without sin (Hebrews 4:16).
God fills us with the Holy Spirit, who by nature is bold and courageous (1 Timothy 1:7-8). We do not have to conjure courage and strength on our own, we simply submit to the Spirit of God that is within us.
When our hearts are aligned with God in faith, he tells us to pray with boldness, expecting that our prayers will be answered (1 John 5:14).
The Spirit of God emboldens us to proclaim the gospel without fear (1 Thessalonians 2:2).
The accuser of the brethren wants you to conform to his accusations - but you will not bow to the devil's limitations of you
Pride is desperate for attention and validation. This can look like being unable to say “no” to anyone because we need to feel needed. On the other hand, pride looks like obsessively thirsting for marriage or fantasizing about a better marriage because we’re hungry to be adored. It’s the incessant need to be seen and validated by the public – but it will never be enough. If the glory you seek comes from men, it’s off.
Pride is neglectful of others and extremely self-centered. This can be seen in individuals who expect others to run to their beckoning call in crisis, but when other people are in crisis, they give lackadaisical energy. If you were to be honest, there’s a thrill that goes through you when people with power or prominence acknowledge you. Subsequently, we consciously and unconsciously pass over the weak, the inconvenient, and the unattractive, because they don’t seem to offer us any substantial. For those of you who are multi-faceted and gifted, let me ask you this: What would happen to your friend groups if you were no longer useful? What will happen when you stop being a source for prayer, money or validation? Would you still feel valid or have you become your own idol?
In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar randomly woke up one day feeling that he achieved greatness by his own wit and power. He completely disregarded God, the one who exalted him. However, after spending seven years in the bush and eating grass like an ox, he was humbled and gave glory to the almighty God.
King Harold Agripa died a shameful death. He was eaten by worms while still alive because he did not give God the glory (Acts 12:21–23). The spirit of pride and arrogance almost cost Naaman his deliverance from leprosy. If he did not humble himself and followed Elisha’s instructions to go wash in the River Jordan, that infirmity would have remained with his family to this day (2 Kings 5:1–19).
The accuser will intentionally mislabel boldness and pride as a tactic of torment. It is time that the church today should be refreshingly bold for truth in the face of false teaching, confronting the world's attempt to neutralize righteousness and exalt wickedness. Righteous boldness is not violent aggression but an insistence that truth must be proclaimed undiluted, and that wickedness should be repudiated. Without such bold clarity, believers in Jesus will not know what is true; they will become spiritually unstable as they succumb to whatever false fashionable idea is current (Ephesians 4:14-15).
Each day our prayer should be, "Lord, deliver me from evil". It must be our desire to be more like Jesus and less the enemy. If you felt any conviction while reading this article, that's good news. Conviction is good news for the prideful. Confession of pride signals the beginning of the end for pride.
Amos 6: 8-14
The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared: “I loathe the arrogance of Jacob, And detest his citadels; Therefore I will deliver up the city and all it contains.” And it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die. 10 Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will answer, “Keep quiet. For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned.”For behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments. Do horses run on rocks? Or does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood, You who rejoice in Lodebar, And say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?” “For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God of hosts, “And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the brook of the Arabah.”
Father, I know that you hate pride, so deliver me from it.
Never let me be convinced that my fortresses are my strengths.
Lord, you’re my strength and my security.
Restrain my pride in seasons of victory. These victories didn’t come from my strength, they came from Your gracious hand
How foolish of me to take pride in something given to me by Your grace; even my natural talent came from You.
I renounce and repent of all pride in my heart and mind.
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Dr. Dee Evans CEO, Koinonia Training and Consulting CEO, The Dee Evans Group
Email contact@thedeeevans.com
Dr. Dee Evans is an internationally recognized consultant and life coach. She has been awarded several leadership awards and she is a respected educator and Christian leader. She is the author of several books, which include: "God, I'm Disappointed, Procrastination: A Kingdom Perspective on the Theology of Work".
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