Agnes Baptist Church
Let Go of Your Ego - Lk. 14:1-14
Locations & Times
Agnes Baptist Church
350 Agnes N, Springtown, TX 76082, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Let Go of Your Ego
TEXT: Lk. 14:1-14
TITLE: Let Go of that Ego
INTRO – Imagine this scene with me...It’s the Sabbath Day. Jesus has just taught a great message on Entering through the Narrow Door, several of the Pharisees have told Him that He should leave because Herod wants to kill Him, but then one of the chief Pharisees invites Jesus into his home for a Sabbath day meal. Jesus accepts the invitation and quickly finds Himself surrounded by other Pharisees who have come to watch Him closely. We must understand that Jesus knows the heart of the men who are sitting with Him at the table. He knows that they believe they are spiritually superior over everyone else in Israel. He also knows that their motivation for having Him as a guest at their meal is not honorable. Verse 1 of our text says that they “watched him”. The word used for “watched” is paratēreō, it means to observe with sinister intent. They were looking for an opportunity to trap Him and condemn Him. Not only were they looking for such an opportunity, they tried to create an opportunity to condemn Jesus by having a man with dropsy present at the meal. (Dropsy is a medical condition that basically causes extreme fluid retention in the body). They were certain that Jesus would heal the man, and they hoped to use that against Him because it was the Sabbath Day. The reason they did all of this was because they had an ego problem. They thought they were superior to everyone else in spiritual, moral and social matters! But Jesus saw right through them and basically told them, LET GO OF THAT EGO!
Let’s read about it together in Lk. 14:1-14…
If we would be honest this morning we would have to admit that we all struggle with having an inflated ego. We all tend to think that we are better than we really, and we try to elevate ourselves over others, especially in spiritual things. I see this happen time and time again in churches, families, schools, businesses, sports, etc. I have been guilty of this personally and I have had people treat me this same way over the years.
Someone once said that when we have an inflated E.G.O. we are Edging God Out.
Although Jesus did not use the word “ego”, He very much addressed the problem of their inflated egos; and even though the Bible does not use the word “Ego”, it does have a lot to say about our egos.
Consider some things with me that we can learn from this encounter that Jesus had with this ego inflated group of religious leaders…
I. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A BIG EGO
A. They have double standards (v. 2-6)
1. Jesus had already healed several people on the Sabbath day and every time He the Pharisees would get upset and accuse Him of breaking the law.
2. They apparently brought in a man in need of healing because they knew that Jesus would “break” their law in order to heal him.
3. Jesus knew their hearts so He asked them if healing was against the law on the Sabbath.
a. They had no answer.
4. He also asked them about what they would do if their animal was in trouble on the Sabbath Day.
a. Each of them knew that they would (and probably had) broken the Sabbath in order to save the life of an animal.
5. The point that Jesus was making is that people with inflated egos have double standards are more concerned with the law and man-made traditions and policies and procedures that result in them getting their way, than they are with seeing people lives changed!
B. They elevate themselves over others (v. 8-11).
1. Ancient eastern custom was to put the most honorable guest at the center of the table with the least important guest (normally the host) at the very end of the table. Oftentimes in a large gathering they would use all 4 sides of the table, so the 4 most important guests would be in the center in and the guest priority list would work its way down each side from there.
2. Jesus pointed out how each of the men present were known to push their way into the seats of honor…they wanted to be the most important person at the party.
3. Jesus then pointed out how embarrassing it is when the host has to move you to a lesser seat than what you chose for yourself!
4. The point that Jesus is making is that people with inflated egos always think they are better than everyone else, and that they could do a better job than everyone else, and that they are more important than everyone else!
C. They only work for personal gain (v. 12-14)
1. Jesus then pointed out how they did guest lists for their party’s…they only invited important people that could benefit them in some way.
a. They only did things for people that could do something for them in return.
2. Jesus told them they should invite the people who really needed help…people that could not return the favor.
3. The point that Jesus is making is that people with inflated egos are only concerned about helping themselves!
HAVING AN INFLATED EGO COMES AT A GREAT PRICE!
II. THE CONSEQUENCES OF A BIG EGO
A. You are setting yourself up for failure. Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
1. The men that Jesus is eating with think they will be in the Kingdom of Heaven, but Jesus lets them know in the next set of verses (Lk. 14:15-24) that they will not be there!
2. We have probably all had the experience of getting a big ego, only to fail miserably in front of everyone!
B. You become an abomination to God. Proverbs 16:5
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
C. God opposes you. James 4:6
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 1 Peter 5:5
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1. The word for “resist” in both these verses means to be opposed against.
2. We have enough things against us in this life, the last thing we need is for God to be against us because of inflated egos!
FORTUANATELY THERE IS A CURE FOR OUR INFLATED EGOS!
III. THE CURE OF A BIG EGO – HUMILITY
A. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less! James 4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1. Humility is a choice.
2. Humility requires submitting to Gods authority.
3. Humility requires that you abandon your quest for a position
B. Humility makes other people our priority…we desire to see their lives changed! Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
C. Humility leads us to be servant leaders! Galatians 5:13
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
CONCL – We all need to Let Go of Our Ego, so that we can better serve God by serving people! When we Let Go of our Ego, we will find that we are truly blessed!
TITLE: Let Go of that Ego
INTRO – Imagine this scene with me...It’s the Sabbath Day. Jesus has just taught a great message on Entering through the Narrow Door, several of the Pharisees have told Him that He should leave because Herod wants to kill Him, but then one of the chief Pharisees invites Jesus into his home for a Sabbath day meal. Jesus accepts the invitation and quickly finds Himself surrounded by other Pharisees who have come to watch Him closely. We must understand that Jesus knows the heart of the men who are sitting with Him at the table. He knows that they believe they are spiritually superior over everyone else in Israel. He also knows that their motivation for having Him as a guest at their meal is not honorable. Verse 1 of our text says that they “watched him”. The word used for “watched” is paratēreō, it means to observe with sinister intent. They were looking for an opportunity to trap Him and condemn Him. Not only were they looking for such an opportunity, they tried to create an opportunity to condemn Jesus by having a man with dropsy present at the meal. (Dropsy is a medical condition that basically causes extreme fluid retention in the body). They were certain that Jesus would heal the man, and they hoped to use that against Him because it was the Sabbath Day. The reason they did all of this was because they had an ego problem. They thought they were superior to everyone else in spiritual, moral and social matters! But Jesus saw right through them and basically told them, LET GO OF THAT EGO!
Let’s read about it together in Lk. 14:1-14…
If we would be honest this morning we would have to admit that we all struggle with having an inflated ego. We all tend to think that we are better than we really, and we try to elevate ourselves over others, especially in spiritual things. I see this happen time and time again in churches, families, schools, businesses, sports, etc. I have been guilty of this personally and I have had people treat me this same way over the years.
Someone once said that when we have an inflated E.G.O. we are Edging God Out.
Although Jesus did not use the word “ego”, He very much addressed the problem of their inflated egos; and even though the Bible does not use the word “Ego”, it does have a lot to say about our egos.
Consider some things with me that we can learn from this encounter that Jesus had with this ego inflated group of religious leaders…
I. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A BIG EGO
A. They have double standards (v. 2-6)
1. Jesus had already healed several people on the Sabbath day and every time He the Pharisees would get upset and accuse Him of breaking the law.
2. They apparently brought in a man in need of healing because they knew that Jesus would “break” their law in order to heal him.
3. Jesus knew their hearts so He asked them if healing was against the law on the Sabbath.
a. They had no answer.
4. He also asked them about what they would do if their animal was in trouble on the Sabbath Day.
a. Each of them knew that they would (and probably had) broken the Sabbath in order to save the life of an animal.
5. The point that Jesus was making is that people with inflated egos have double standards are more concerned with the law and man-made traditions and policies and procedures that result in them getting their way, than they are with seeing people lives changed!
B. They elevate themselves over others (v. 8-11).
1. Ancient eastern custom was to put the most honorable guest at the center of the table with the least important guest (normally the host) at the very end of the table. Oftentimes in a large gathering they would use all 4 sides of the table, so the 4 most important guests would be in the center in and the guest priority list would work its way down each side from there.
2. Jesus pointed out how each of the men present were known to push their way into the seats of honor…they wanted to be the most important person at the party.
3. Jesus then pointed out how embarrassing it is when the host has to move you to a lesser seat than what you chose for yourself!
4. The point that Jesus is making is that people with inflated egos always think they are better than everyone else, and that they could do a better job than everyone else, and that they are more important than everyone else!
C. They only work for personal gain (v. 12-14)
1. Jesus then pointed out how they did guest lists for their party’s…they only invited important people that could benefit them in some way.
a. They only did things for people that could do something for them in return.
2. Jesus told them they should invite the people who really needed help…people that could not return the favor.
3. The point that Jesus is making is that people with inflated egos are only concerned about helping themselves!
HAVING AN INFLATED EGO COMES AT A GREAT PRICE!
II. THE CONSEQUENCES OF A BIG EGO
A. You are setting yourself up for failure. Proverbs 16:18
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 29:23
A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
1. The men that Jesus is eating with think they will be in the Kingdom of Heaven, but Jesus lets them know in the next set of verses (Lk. 14:15-24) that they will not be there!
2. We have probably all had the experience of getting a big ego, only to fail miserably in front of everyone!
B. You become an abomination to God. Proverbs 16:5
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
C. God opposes you. James 4:6
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 1 Peter 5:5
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1. The word for “resist” in both these verses means to be opposed against.
2. We have enough things against us in this life, the last thing we need is for God to be against us because of inflated egos!
FORTUANATELY THERE IS A CURE FOR OUR INFLATED EGOS!
III. THE CURE OF A BIG EGO – HUMILITY
A. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less! James 4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1. Humility is a choice.
2. Humility requires submitting to Gods authority.
3. Humility requires that you abandon your quest for a position
B. Humility makes other people our priority…we desire to see their lives changed! Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
C. Humility leads us to be servant leaders! Galatians 5:13
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
CONCL – We all need to Let Go of Our Ego, so that we can better serve God by serving people! When we Let Go of our Ego, we will find that we are truly blessed!
OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE THE LORD
1. We need a few volunteers to help work a courtesy station for the Chamber of Commerce's "All American Bike Rally" on Saturday June 4. Please contact Pastor Doug at 817-694-5994 if you are interested.
2. We are needing to put together another cooking team for Wednesday nights. You will be responsible for working with a small group to prepare a meal one Wednesday night a month. We will have a meeting on Wednesday June 1 at 6:30 PM. Please see Fawnya Chadwell if you are interested.
1. We need a few volunteers to help work a courtesy station for the Chamber of Commerce's "All American Bike Rally" on Saturday June 4. Please contact Pastor Doug at 817-694-5994 if you are interested.
2. We are needing to put together another cooking team for Wednesday nights. You will be responsible for working with a small group to prepare a meal one Wednesday night a month. We will have a meeting on Wednesday June 1 at 6:30 PM. Please see Fawnya Chadwell if you are interested.
UPCOMING EVENTS
May 29……….Poolville Baccalaureate hosted at ABC at 6:00 PM.
June 1………………….Cooking team meeting at 6:30
June 5..………………………...SPOTLIGHT on Missions
June 12-17………………………………….Summer Camp $250.00 per student
June 19…………….Father’s Day (No evening service)
July 15-22…………………..Mission trip to Costa Rica
July 27-30………...Men’s Outdoor Adventure to Red River, NM; approx. $300.00 per person
July 31-Aug.3…………………….Vacation Bible School
May 29……….Poolville Baccalaureate hosted at ABC at 6:00 PM.
June 1………………….Cooking team meeting at 6:30
June 5..………………………...SPOTLIGHT on Missions
June 12-17………………………………….Summer Camp $250.00 per student
June 19…………….Father’s Day (No evening service)
July 15-22…………………..Mission trip to Costa Rica
July 27-30………...Men’s Outdoor Adventure to Red River, NM; approx. $300.00 per person
July 31-Aug.3…………………….Vacation Bible School