Hello, and
welcome to Heart Lift.
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I'm Jill Morikone,
and I'm so glad that
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you've joined us today.
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We're on a journey
toward hope, toward healing,
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toward the transformation that
the Lord Jesus wants to work
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in your heart and in mine,
as women, as daughters of God.
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If you're just joining us, our
last program we began several
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we began several programs in
this series that will deal with
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the subject of pride.
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Our last program
was a boastful heart.
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And we talked about
how boastful hearts;
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we really never see Jesus.
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And how, if we behold Him,
if we give thanks for that which
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maybe humbles us a bit, and if
we behold Jesus, how He can work
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in our lives to create in us
His humility and His meekness.
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Today's topic is a critical
spirit, a critical heart.
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Our Scripture is 2 Corinthians
10:12, 2 Corinthians 10:12.
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The Bible says, For we
dare not class ourselves,
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or compare ourselves with
those who commend themselves:
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but they, measuring
themselves by themselves,
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and comparing themselves
among themselves, are not wise.
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Let's pray. Father, we
come before You right now
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in the name of Jesus.
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Thank You that You want to
work freedom in our hearts.
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Thank You that You want to bring
deliverance from the critical
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heart, from those things
that are displeasing to You.
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And right now we just
open up our hearts to receive
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what you have for us.
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And we thank You
in Jesus' name, Amen.
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I was having my early
morning time with God.
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One of those times where
you just love spending time
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in Jesus' presence.
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I had drunk
deeply from His Word.
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I had spent time in prayer, and
now I was just sitting quietly
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savoring the presence
of being with my King.
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This particular
morning I decided to pray
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Psalm 139:23, 24 over my life.
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And I've shared with you before
that I love this Scripture,
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and it's a beautiful prayer to
pray over our hearts and lives.
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David says, Search me,
O God, and know my heart:
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try me, and know my
thoughts: and see...
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The Bible Says... see if
there's any wickedness in me,
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and lead me in
the way everlasting.
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Now that's what David says,
but I always say, because I know
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the wickedness exists, so I
always say, Reveal to me what's
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displeasing to You, and
lead me in Your perfect way.
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So as I was praying this prayer,
I all of a sudden, saw my heart
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laid out on my lap.
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Now I'm not trying to
tell you I had a vision,
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because I do not have that.
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So we're not talking about that.
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But it was as if I
could see my heart.
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I was sitting. It was
as if I could see my heart
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laid out on my lap.
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In the middle was fresh
clean tissue; healthy looking.
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All the way around the edges
were pockets of diseased tissue.
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I began to cry as I realized the
junk that's in those pockets,
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the junk that
that stuff represents.
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I had no idea what it
was, but I knew that God would
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show me in His time.
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That very day a situation arose.
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Instantly my heart
responded with a critical,
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and a judgmental spirit.
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And in that moment, when
I responded with a critical
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spirit, I felt God tap me on
the shoulder, and He said, Jill,
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My precious daughter,
this is one of those pockets
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that I showed you this morning.
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You didn't know what it
was, you just knew it was junk,
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and disease filled,
but this is what was in
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one of those pockets.
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And I said, God, I'm sorry.
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And He said, I forgive you!
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Instantly, completely!
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And then He said, I want
to work in your life to remove
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this spirit of criticism.
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We have our self-evaluation.
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We always like to begin our
programs with a self-evaluation.
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As always, I want to
encourage you to be honest.
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Don't feel like you have to
share this with anybody else,
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or you have to somehow
measure up to anybody else.
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All you need to do
is simply be honest.
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Where do you feel
you are right now in your
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relationship with
God? Self-evaluation.
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We have several options here.
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Just pick the one
that fits you the best.
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1.
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Maybe that's where you
feel you are right now.
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2.
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3.
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And I have to be honest
with you, I have been in
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category 1 and 2 definitely.
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I know I have, but I think
more than any other category,
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I've been right there at 3.
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I think the critical thoughts.
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I might not
outwardly express it,
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but I'm still thinking
it inside, and God says,
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Jill, that's the same.
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Sin is sin, right?
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It doesn't matter whether I'm
acting out, or if I'm thinking.
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It's the same thing.
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Maybe you're not at
any one of those three.
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Maybe you're at the next one.
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And the last one, finally.
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The pocket of a
critical heart is like a cancer.
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It spreads; it poisons my
life with Jesus, and cripples my
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walk with Jesus, and it
spreads to effect other people.
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It eats away at our hearts.
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Often, you probably have seen
this, the pocket of a critical
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spirit separates best
friends, and can divide homes.
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It can destroy innocent lives.
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I'm sure you've seen
examples of the critical heart,
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and we're going to
look at a couple examples
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of the critical
heart here today.
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Some modern day examples I
can think of is at the dinner
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table, after the
Pastor has preached.
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At the dinner table
afterward what can happen?
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The critical spirit, the
critical heart can pop out with
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maybe some comments.
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When it might pop up
in nominating committee
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when someone is suggested
for an important position,
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and all of a sudden the
critical spirit, a critical word
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begins to slip out.
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It even manifests itself
in seemingly harmless ways,
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such as someone might come
to you with the prayer request,
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Oh, pray for Sister
Jane and Sister Helen.
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They can't seem to get along.
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In the beginning we're almost
sucked in without realizing it.
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Oh yes, we want a prayer.
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We want to pray for
Sister Jane, and Sister Helen.
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We believe in prayer.
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But underneath all of
that, you know what we see?
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We find the critical spirit.
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You and I get
along with each other.
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We're not like Sister
Jane, and Sister Helen.
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We're a little bit
better than that, because we can
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get along with them.
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And in our self righteous
attitude, we can pray for them.
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Now I'm not saying it's not a
good thing to pray for people.
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That's a beautiful thing.
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It's the spirit that is
insidious underneath and behind.
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It's the story of
the Pharisee and the tax
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collector all over again.
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And we see this
in Luke 18, Luke 18.
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It's the story of the
Pharisee and tax collector.
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Verse 9. Jesus spoke this
parable to some who trusted
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in themselves that they were
righteous, and despised others:
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Two men went up to the temple
to pray; one was a Pharisee.
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He was a religious leader.
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He was a religious ruler.
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The other was a tax collector.
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King James says Publican.
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Someone who was not
well thought of in society.
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So you have one
man; they're both going
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to the temple to pray.
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One man is reputable,
and people think well of him.
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The other man is maybe
lower caste in society,
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and people would
naturally judge him.
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The Bible continues, Verse 11.
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The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank
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You that I am not like
other men: extortioners, unjust,
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adulterers, or even as
this lowly tax collector.
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I fast twice in the week, and
I give tithes of all I possess.
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Do you see that
pride? Oh, that's huge!
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It just comes right off
the page as you read it.
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And the tax collector; see
the difference in his spirit.
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The tax
collector; he stood afar off.
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He would not so much as
lift up his eyes to heaven,
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but he beat on his
chest, and he said,
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God be merciful to me a sinner.
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The Bible says, I tell
you, this man went down
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to his house justified.
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The man who everyone
else thought was a low life,
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he went down justified
rather than the Pharisee.
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For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled,
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and he who humbles
himself will be exalted.
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Now was God being mean there?
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Was God saying, I don't
want to justify the Pharisee?
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Of course not.
Simply he didn't ask.
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Did you notice that?
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Having asked for
nothing, he received nothing.
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He was so busy telling God
how much better he was than
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the people around
him, he didn't even ask.
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He didn't even say,
God I need You. I want you.
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James 4:6, the Bible
tells us, God resists the proud,
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but gives grace to the humble.
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You see, the tax
collector received grace,
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and the Pharisee received
nothing, because he didn't ask.
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Matthew 7 tells us that.
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This is the sermon, part
of the sermon on the mount.
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We have the beatitudes in
5, and then it just kind of
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continues through 5,
6, and 7, through there.
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And Matthew 7:7 Jesus says,
Ask, and it will be given you;
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seek and you will find; knock,
and it will be opened to you:
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For everyone who asks receives;
and he who seeks finds;
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and to him who
knocks it will be opened.
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The disciples battled
this critical pride often.
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It wasn't just in the
heart of the Pharisee,
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in the heart of
the religious ruler.
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This critical pride
could effect any one of us.
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They battled this often.
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In my mind's eye I can see them
now, toiling up some dusty road
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in Galilee, absorbed with
trying to keep the closest
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spot next to Jesus, because
that was the most important.
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Trying to keep those
women and insignificant children
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in the background,
arguing as they walk about
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who is the greatest.
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Mark 9, Mark 9:33, 34.
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Jesus came to Capernaum.
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When He was in the house He
asked them, What is it that you
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disagreed among
yourselves along the way?
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What were you arguing about?
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The Bible says they kept
silent, for on the road they had
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disputed among themselves
who would be the greatest.
00:13:46.72\00:13:51.89
Jesus said, What
were you arguing about?
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What was troubling you?
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But they kept quiet,
because they had been arguing
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on that dusty road.
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They'd been arguing
about who was the best.
00:14:00.54\00:14:03.81
Who was the best disciple?
00:14:03.84\00:14:05.51
Who was the one most worthy
to take that place right next to
00:14:05.54\00:14:10.41
Jesus when He should
set up His earthly kingdom?
00:14:10.45\00:14:13.82
For that's what they
believed He was going to do.
00:14:13.85\00:14:17.12
I want to share, in the
remainder of our program,
00:14:17.15\00:14:20.72
four steps to breaking
free from the critical spirit.
00:14:20.76\00:14:26.49
How do we break free
from the critical spirit?
00:14:26.53\00:14:29.06
1. Don't get discouraged,
don't despair, don't give up,
00:14:29.10\00:14:35.34
don't listen to
the lies of the enemy.
00:14:35.37\00:14:37.84
There's hope and
victory in Jesus.
00:14:37.87\00:14:40.28
So if you feel like, Boy,
I do criticize people a lot.
00:14:40.34\00:14:44.61
Boy, I do have
the critical heart.
00:14:44.65\00:14:47.32
Don't be discouraged.
00:14:47.35\00:14:48.68
The Lord Jesus, already knows
everything about our hearts,
00:14:48.72\00:14:52.42
and He says, I love you.
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I can change you.
I want to change you.
00:14:54.46\00:15:00.40
I love that about our God.
00:15:00.43\00:15:02.93
Jesus can show us our hearts.
00:15:02.96\00:15:05.40
1 John 1:9, If we confess
our sins, He's faithful and just
00:15:05.43\00:15:10.17
to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us
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from all unrighteousness.
00:15:14.24\00:15:16.31
Ezekiel 36:26, the Bible says: A
new heart also will I give you,
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and a new spirit
will I put within you:
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I'm going to take away
that stony heart, Jill, that you
00:15:26.62\00:15:30.09
possess. And I know I do.
00:15:30.13\00:15:32.46
And He says, Jill, I'm going
to give you a heart of flesh,
00:15:32.49\00:15:36.20
a heart that's soft,
a heart that's pliable,
00:15:36.23\00:15:40.27
and moldable to Jesus Christ.
00:15:40.34\00:15:42.60
Thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through
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our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:15:50.18\00:15:51.61
Victory is assured;
victory is sure in Jesus.
00:15:51.65\00:15:56.58
And finally Hebrews 10:16.
00:15:56.62\00:15:59.45
I like this promise.
00:15:59.49\00:16:01.39
He says, I can write My
law of humility in your heart.
00:16:01.42\00:16:06.09
He wants to write His law of
humility in your heart as well.
00:16:06.13\00:16:11.10
We can't do
that. God knows that.
00:16:11.13\00:16:12.93
He knows we can't any
sooner get rid of critical pride
00:16:12.97\00:16:16.37
than we can change our skin
color, than we can change our
00:16:16.40\00:16:19.77
hair color, except
with dye, of course,
00:16:19.81\00:16:21.74
than we can grow taller.
00:16:21.78\00:16:24.01
We can't do that. We come
to God and He writes His law
00:16:24.05\00:16:28.75
of humility in our hearts.
00:16:28.78\00:16:30.99
John 13, the book of
John, I believe is one of my
00:16:31.02\00:16:36.19
favorite books in the Bible.
00:16:36.22\00:16:37.56
I just love the way
John expresses his thoughts.
00:16:37.59\00:16:41.63
John 13, we see when
Jesus washed the disciples feet.
00:16:41.66\00:16:47.00
Here we are with Him,
the Messiah, the Son of God
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stooping down, and
washing their feet.
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Let's look at two verses:
John 13:3, 4. I love verse 3.
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It says, Jesus knowing that the
Father had given all things into
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His hands, and that He had come
from God, and was going to God;
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He rose from supper, He
laid aside His garments;
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He took a towel,
and He girded Himself.
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You notice John prefaces Jesus
kneeling down, and washing the
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feet of the
disciple with that statement.
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He's not saying Jesus had
a momentary lapse in memory.
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He's not saying Jesus
forgot who He was and thought,
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Okay, I'm a servant.
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I can just go down here,
and I can do that job. No!
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With full
knowledge of His divinity...
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That's what I have written
in the margin of my Bible.
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With full
knowledge of His divinity,
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He still chose to serve.
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First remember that God...
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Don't despair, don't get
discouraged, God can work
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in our heart and change us.
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Second, we learn
to esteem other people
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as better than ourselves.
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We want the mind of Christ.
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We see that mind
in Philippians 2.
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Philippians 2 is a beautiful
picture of the mind of Christ.
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Philippians 2, and we're
going to start with verse 2.
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It says, Fulfill my
joy, by being like-minded,
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having the same love, being
of one accord, of one mind.
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How much strife and division
could we avoid if we considered
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each other as
brothers and sisters in Jesus,
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instead of shoving each other
out the way, in our frantic
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struggle to get to the top?
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Or maybe we pick up
little pebbles, and we toss them
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at other people; people
who don't think like we do,
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people who don't dress like
we do, people who don't act like
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we do, people who anyone
that we would view as a threat.
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Verse 3. Let nothing be
done through selfish ambition,
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or conceit; but in lowliness of
mind let each esteem the others
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as better than themselves.
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To me that is the mind of
Christ; esteeming other people,
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that servant heart; Him
getting down and washing the
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feet of His disciples.
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That is the key: esteeming other
people as better than ourselves.
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They have what they
call the crab mentality.
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Maybe you've heard of it.
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And I'm not talking
about being a crabby person.
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I'm talking about,
it's actually a term.
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You can Google it:
the crab mentality.
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If fisherman want to collect
crabs; they want to catch them.
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They can put them in a
bucket without a lid on.
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Do you know why?
Because if one crab reaches up
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a little claw...
I don't like crabs.
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If one crab reaches up a little
claw to climb out of the bucket,
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you know what happens?
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His brother in the
bucket reaches up a claw,
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and pulls him back down.
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So they don't even need a
lid on it, because they're not
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going to get out of the bucket.
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They're always
pulling each other down.
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The crab mentality is, If I
can't have it, neither can you.
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That's the crab mentality.
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In addition to esteeming other
people as better than ourselves,
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we want to focus on others.
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Learn to listen
instead of always speaking.
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I really need to learn this one.
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Is someone telling a story?
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Listen to what they say
without trying to interrupt it,
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or without, while
they're talking, thinking,
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How am I going
to top this story?
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Or what am I going to say to one
up what they just said to me?
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Is someone excited about their
promotion? rejoice with them
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Rejoice with them instead
of feeling sorry for yourself.
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Is someone struggling
because they're not friends with
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the popular person?
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Encourage them, and
be friends with them.
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Pay attention to their needs.
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Are they sick? You could cook
them a meal, pick up groceries,
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and bring them to their house.
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Do they need a friend?
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You could drop by
and listen to them.
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Are they discouraged?
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You could offer to
pray with them, or for them.
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Claim promises from the
Word of God over their life.
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My mother-in-law,
Valerie, my husband Greg's Mom.
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I just call her Mom.
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She's a beautiful
example of a servant's heart,
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of someone who esteems other
people as better than herself,
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and someone who focuses on
other people instead of herself.
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Hers is a beautiful heart
because it's patterned after
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the heart of Jesus Christ.
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Lastly we want to
give of ourselves.
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Sometimes it
requires sacrifice to do that.
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Does someone need a
ride, and it's out of your way?
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Maybe drive a distance anyway.
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Is someone lonely and
discouraged, and yet you're
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too tired to go? Go
and visit with them anyway.
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J. D. Quinn always says,
It was the right thing to do.
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Meaning, go and do it anyway,
even if you don't feel like it.
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Go and do it anyway.
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Is someone obnoxious, and just
likes to talk about themselves?
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and those people
kind of drive you nuts?
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Maybe sit and listen anyway.
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Jesus lived to
bless other people.
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He lived to bless others.
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And He says we will be following
in the footsteps of Jesus
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when we do the same.
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No matter where you feel you are
right now, with that critical
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spirit, you might
say, It's just all over me.
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And God says,
don't be discouraged.
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I can forgive you.
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I can give you
the mind of Christ.
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I can teach you to focus on
other people, to esteem others
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as better than yourself, to give
of yourself, to even sacrifice
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if need be for them.
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We're going to take a short
break, and when we come back,
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we're going to do our practical
application for this week.
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Something you can do at home
that will be a help, I pray,
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and an encouragement to you.
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And then our next
program deals with jealousy.
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