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  PRIDE AND THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT
  by David Wilkerson
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes the importance of humility and dependency
on God, warning against the dangers of pride and independence.

Topics: "Humility", "Pride"
Scripture References: Psalm 37:23, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 14:12, Isaiah 66:2, Matthew 23:12, Luke 14:11, Romans 12:3, Philippians 2:3, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5

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DESCRIPTION
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David Wilkerson emphasizes the stark contrast between pride and
humility, explaining that true humility involves complete dependence on
God for guidance and strength, while pride stems from independence and
self-reliance. He warns that a proud person, who relies on their own
reasoning and abilities, is unteachable and cannot receive God's truth,
as the Holy Spirit is absent in their life. Wilkerson highlights that
God desires full control over our lives, and only through humility can
we receive His grace and direction. The sermon calls for believers to
seek God's counsel in every decision, recognizing that pride leads to
spiritual death.

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CONTENT
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Let me distinguish clearly between pride and humility.

A humble person is not one who thinks little of himself, hangs his head
and says, "I'm nothing." Rather, he is one who depends wholly on the
Lord for everything, in every circumstance. He knows the Lord has to
direct him, empower him and quicken him--and that he's dead without
that!

A proud person, on the other hand, is one who may love God in a fashion,
but he acts and thinks on his own. At its root, pride is simply
independence from God, and the proud person makes decisions based on his
own reasoning, skill and abilities. He says, "God gave me a good mind,
and he expects me to use it. It's silly to ask him for direction in
every detail of life."

This person is unteachable because he already "knows it all." He might
listen to someone who is higher in authority or better known than
himself--but not to someone he thinks is inferior.

Not one word a proud person receives is of God! It is impossible for him
to judge righteous judgment--impossible to speak God's mind--because the
Holy Spirit is not present in him to bear witness to truth. "There is a
way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death" (Proverbs 14:12).

Pride is independence--humility is dependency. The humble Christian is
one who makes no move, no decision, without counsel from the Lord. The
Bible says the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord, but he
cannot order the steps of an independent spirit. This is all to say--God
wants full control--give it to him.

"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6).

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/david-wilkerson/pride-and-the-voice-of-the-spirit/
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