1 Cor. 13:4, "Charity ..... vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,"

A. What does it mean to "Vaunt Yourself" or to be "Puffed Up"?

1. To "Vaunt Yourself" is to "Carry yourself so as to show plainly that you glory in What and Who your are as well as what you Possess --- "Parade yourself before others ..."

2. To be "Puffed Up" is to be Arrogant and always "Thinking We Are Right."

3. Grace pulls the rug out from under Pride and Boasting.

B. We have seen that Jealousy is my Sinful Response to the Prosperity of Others.

We shall see in this lesson that Arrogance & Boasting are my Sinful Response to My Own Prosperity.

1. Boasting is letting other people know about my success in a way that tempts others to be jealous of my success.

2. Arrogance is a character trait of Satan (Isa. 14; Ezek. 28).

C. True Christian Love is expressed in Godly Humility

1. Prevents us from Envying Others and what they possess.

2. Prevents us from Glorying In What We, Ourselves, Possess --- Honors --- Prosperity, etc.

3. 1 Cor. 15:10, "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

D. When we are puffed up and vaunt ourselves over others, we Provoke Others To Envy and make them Uneasy in our presence.

True Christian Love tends to Reconcile Others Rather Than Provoke Them.

E. True Christian Love tends to make all behavior Christ-Like.

1. If we prosper Below others, we are Not To Envy Them.

2. If we prosper Above others, we are Not To Be Proud or Puffed Up with our success.

3. 1 Cor. 4:7, "For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"

F. The spirit of true Christian Love is the spirit of Humility.

A. As Christians we are Pure, Spotless, and Glorious Beings --- Perfect In Holiness.

B. Yet, Compared To God:

Abraham --- Gen. 18:27, "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:"

David --- Psa. 103:14, "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."

Paul --- Rom. 7:18, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."

C. In Contrast, some Church Members are Proud, Arrogant Know-It-Alls who are Determined to Have Their Own Way no matter how it affects the Cause of Christ.

Paul had this problem in the Church At Corinth.

1 Cor. 4:10, "We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised."

D. True Christian Love gives us a Desire to be in Compliance with:

Rom. 12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

Paul knew that some of them were so Prideful and Angry and Spiteful when they didn’t get their own way, it was only by the Grace of God that he could say what he said --- he knew it would be rejected by some and they would Become Angry At Paul.

A. Some have a Low Esteem of Themselves as compared with Other Men --- while Knowing Nothing of the Vast Distance Between Them And God.

B. Though they may look upon themselves as Humble-Spirited --- they Know Nothing of True Godly Humility.

C. In Comparison with God, our Creator, the one In Whom We Live, And Move And Have Our Being --- Who Do We Think We Are?

Why does a $100 bill "looks" so big when you take it to church?

But, so small when you take it to the mall?

(Indicates the Value we place upon the work of Christ.)

Why does a couple of hours spent at church seem so long?

But, so short when spent watching a movie, a ball game?

(Indicates where our Interest truly lies.)

Why do we get excited when a ball game goes into overtime or extra innings?

But, we complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time?

(Indicates what we get Excited about.)

Why are we rarely late to work?

But, always late to church?

(Indicates the Importance we place upon our worship and service to God.)

Why do we arrive early to get a front row seat at a ball game or a concert?

But, scramble to get a back seat at church services?

(Indicates where our Heart is.)

Why is it that we can't think of anything to say when we pray?

But, have no difficulty thinking of things to talk to a friend about?

(Indicates the true Relationship we have with God.)

Why do we believe what the newspapers say?

But, we question what the Bible (God’s Word) says?

(Indicates the Respect we have for God's Word.)

Why is it so hard to read a chapter in the Bible?

But, so easy to read 2-300 pages of a best selling novel?

(Indicates the Love we have for God and His Word.)

Why do we call God our Father and Jesus our brother?

But, find it difficult to introduce them to our family?

(Indicates how much we are Ashamed of Him.)

Why are we so quick to take directions from a total stranger when we are lost?

But are hesitant to take directions from God for our lives?

(Indicates our Pride and Self-Sufficiency or our Humility and Dependence upon God.)

Bonus Question or Statement --- How Long You Can Go Without Reading God's Word and Without Talking To Him In Prayer Is The Real Indicator of How Prideful And Self Sufficient You Are or How Humble And Dependent Upon Him You Are!

The more Humble we are, the More Time we will spend in Prayer.

The more Prideful we are, the Less we will see our Need To Pray.

A. People who mean well, may Compliment those with Outstanding Gifts --- their words may even become Flattery.

Those who are so praised may allow this to Produce In Them Arrogance.

B. Those whose Children appear to have Turned Out "Right" may be inclined to Take Credit for these resuilts.

1. In truth, Good Parenting Is Never A Guarantee of Good Children.

2. Faithful Parenting, like Faithful Preaching does Not always Assure us of the Results we desire.

C. Revival is many times a Source of Pride.

1. Jesus never found it necessary to send a Promotional Team ahead of Him to build Him up and promot Him in order to draw a crowd.

2. And, many times we desire to have a Revival To "Save Face" when what God wants is for us to "lose face".

A. The truly humble man is Sensible & Sensitive to his Subjection to and Dependence Upon God.

1. The Greatness of his Weakness and the Smallness of his Strength.

2. The Great Distance he is From God’s Goal For His Live.

3. The Insufficiency of His Own Power and Wisdom.

4. He is of Necessity, a Man of Prayer!

B. The truly humble man is Sensible & Sensitive to his Moral Vileness and Wickedness.

Isaiah --- Isaiah 6:5, "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

Job --- Job 42:5-6, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

David --- Psa. 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

Isaiah --- Isa. 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

C. The truly humble man is Sensible & Sensitive to his Complete Unworthiness of God’s Mercy and Grace.

Jacob --- Gen. 32:10, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands."

David --- 2 Sam. 7:18, "Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?"

D. True Humility has a sense of God's Greatness, Excellence, and Loveliness --- without which we cannot Know Ourselves.

1. We Heartily and Freely Acknowledge our Sinfulness and Littleness before God.

2. We are Distrustful of Ourself (have no confidence in the flesh) and Depend Only Upon God.

a. The Proud man has a High Opinion of his own Wisdom, Strength, Righteousness and is Self-Confident.

b. The Humble man delights to Cast Himself Wholly Upon God as his Refuge and Righteousness, and Strength.

3. We heartily Renounce All The Glory of the good we have or have done and Gives It All To God.

Psa. 115:1, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake."

a. We wholly subject ourselves unto God.

b. We submit cheerfully to His will.

4. Job --- Job 13:15, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

Phil. 3:1-10, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." --- V. 7, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ," --- V. 10, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;"

Col. 1:24-29, "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:" --- V. 27, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

1 Peter 4:12-14, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."